88

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES

ROBERT ERNEST COWAN

F6&0

CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

A consultation whether to proceed by land or water — preparations for
boat building — an exploring party — a party of trappers detached —
two Snake visitors — their report concerning the river — confirmed by
the exploring party — Mad river abandoned — arrival at Henry's fort —
detachment of Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner to trap — Mr. Miller
resolves to accompany them — their departure. . . . .9

CHAPTER II.

Scanty fare — a mendicant Snake — embarcation on Henry river — joy of
the voyageurs — arrival at Snake river — rapids and breakers — begin
ning of misfortunes — Snake encampments — parley with a savage —
a second disaster — loss of a boatman — the Caldron Linn. . . 17

CHAPTER III.

Gloomy council — exploring parties — discouraging reports — disastrous
experiment — detachments in quest of succor — caches, how made —
return of one of the detachments— unsuccessful — further disappoint
ments — the Devil's Scuttle Hole. 25

CHAPTER IV.

Determination of the party to proceed on foot — dreary deserts between
Snake river and the Columbia — distribution of effects preparatory to
a march — division of the party — rugged march along the river — wild
and broken scenery — Shoshonies — alarm of a Snake encampment —
intercourse with the Snakes — horse dealing — value of a tin kettle —
sufferings from thirst — a horse reclaimed — fortitude of an Indian
woman — scarcity of food — dog's flesh a dainty — news of Mr. Crooks
and his party — painful travelling among the mountains — snow storms
— a dreary mountain prospect — a bivouack during a wintry night —
return to the river bank. . . 32

259491

Jv CONTENTS.

PAG*.

CHAPTER V.

An unexpected meeting — navigation in a skin canoe— strange fears of
suffering men — hardships of Mr. Crooks and his comrades — tidings
of M'Lellan — a retrograde march — a willow raft — extreme suffering
of some of the party — illness of Mr. Crooks — impatience of some of
the men — necessity of leaving the laggards behind. . . .44

CHAPTER VL

Mr. Hunt overtakes the advanced party — Pierre Donon, and his skele
ton horse — a Shoshonie camp — a justifiable outrage — feasting on
horse flesh — Mr. Crooks brought to the camp — undertakes to relieve
his men — the skin ferry boat — frenzy of Prevost — his melancholy
fate — enfeebled state of John Day — Mr. Crooks again left behind —
the party emerge from among the mountains — interview with Sho-
shonics — a guide procured to conduct the party across a mountain —
ferriage across Snake river — reunion with Mr. Crooks's men — final
departure from the river. 50

CHAPTER VII.

Departure from Snake river — mountains to the north — wayworn travel
lers — an increase of the Dorion family — a camp of Shoshonies — a
new-year festival among the Snakes — a wintry march through the
mountains — a sunny prospect, and milder climate — Indian horse
tracks — grassy valleys — a camp of Sciatogas — joy of the travellers —
dangers of abundance — habits of the Sciatogas — fate of Carriere —
the umatalla — arrival at the banks of the Columbia — tidings of the
scattered members of the expedition — scenery on the Columbia —
tidings of Astoria — arrival at the falls 58

CHAPTER VHI.

The village of Wish-ram — roguery of the inhabitants — their habitations
— tidings of Astoria — of the Tonquin massacre — thieves about the
camp — a band of braggarts — embarcation — arrival at Astoria — a
joyful reception— old comrades — adventures of Reed, M'Lellan, and
M'Kenae, among the Snake river mountains — rejoicing at Astoria. 70

CHAPTER IX.

Scanty fare during the winter — a poor hunting ground — the return of
the fishing season — the uthlecan or smelt — its qualities — vast shoals
of it — sturgeon — Indian modes of taking it — the salmon — different
species — nature of the country about the coast — forests and forest
trees — a remarkable flowering vine — animals— birds— reptiles — cli
mate west of the mountains — mildness of the temperature— soil of
the coast and the interior. .78

CONTENTS. V

• .- .

I PAGE.

CHAPTER X.

Natives in the neighborhood of Astoria — their persons and character
istics — causes of deformity — their dress — their contempt of beards
— ornaments — armor and weapons — mode of flattening the head —
extent of the custom — religious belief — the two great spirits of the air
and of the fire — priests or medicine men — the rival idols — polygamy
a cause of greatness — petty warfare — music, dancing, gambling —
thieving a virtue — keen traders — intrusive habits — abhorrence of
drunkenness — anecdote of Comcomly. 84

CHAPTER XI.

Spring arrangements at, Astoria — various expeditions set out — the
Long Narrows — pilfering Indians — thievish tribe at Wish-ram —
portage at the falls — portage by moonlight — an attack, a rout, and
a robbery — Indian cure for cowardice — a parley and compromise —
the despatch party turn back — meet Crooks and John Day — their
sufferings — Indian perfidy — arrival at Astoria. .... 93

CHAPTER XII.

Comprehensive views — to supply the Russian fur establishment — an
agent sent, to Russia — project of an annual ship — the Beaver fitted
out — her equipment and crew — instructions to the captain — the
Sandwich islands — rumors of the fate of the Tonquin — precautions
on reaching the mouth of the Columbia. *..".• • • • 105
CHAPTER XIII.

Active operations at Astoria — various expeditions fitted out — Robert
Stuart and a party destined for New York — singular conduct of
John Day — his fate — piratical pass and hazardous portage — rattle
snakes — their abhorrence of tobacco — arrival among the Wallah-
Wallahs — purchase of horses — departure of Stuart and his band
for the mountains. 110

CHAPTER XIV.

Route of Mr. Stuart — dreary wilds — thirsty travelling — a grove and
streamlet — the Blue mountains — a fertile plain with rivulets — sul
phur spring — route along Snake river — rumors of white men — the
Snake and his horse — a Snake guide — a midnight decampment —
unexpected meeting with old comrades — story of trappers' hard
ships — Salmon falls — a great fishery — mode of spearing salmon —
arrival at the Caldron Linn — state of the caches — new resolution
of the three Kentucky trappers 119

CHAPTER XV.

The Snake river deserts — scanty fare — bewildered travellers — prowl
ing Indians — a giant Crow chief— a bully rebuked — Indian signals —

Tl CONTENTS.

PAGE.

smoke on the mountains — Mad river — an alarm — an Indian foray —

a scamper — a rude Indian joke — a sharp-shooter balked of his shot 133

CHAPTER XVI.

Travellers unhorsed — pedestrian preparations — prying spies — bonfire
of baggage — a march on foot — railing a river — the wounded elk —
Indian trails — wilful conduct of Mr.M'Lellan— grand prospect from
a mountain — distant craters of volcanoes — illness of Mr. Crooks. . 142

CHAPTER XVII.

Ben Jones and a grizzly bear — rocky heights — mountain torrents —
traces of M'Lellan — volcanic remains — mineral earths — peculiar clay
for pottery— dismal plight of M'Lellan — starvation — shocking prop
osition of a desperate man — a broken down bull — a ravenous meal
— Indian graves — hospitable Snakes — a forlorn alliance. . .151

CHAPTER XVIII.

Spanish river scenery — trail of Crow Indians — a snow storm — a rous
ing fire and a buffalo feast — a plain of salt — climbing a mountain —
volcanic summit — extinguished crater — marine shells — encampment
on a prairie — successful hunting — good cheer — romantic scenery —
rocky defile — foaming rapids — the fiery narrows 161

CHAPTER XIX.

Wintry storms — a halt and council — cantonment for the winter — fine
hunting country — game of the mountains and plains — successful
hunting — Mr. Crooks and a grizzly bear — the wigwam — bighorn
and biacktails — beef and venison — good quarters and good cheer
— an alarm — an intrusion — unwelcome guests — desolation of the
larder — gormandizing exploits of hungry savages — good quarters
abandoned. 168

CHAPTER XX.

Rough wintry travelling — hills and plains — snow and ice — disappear
ance of game— a vast dreary plain — a second halt for the winter —
another wigwam — new-year's feast — buffalo humps, tongues, and
marrow bones — return of spring — launch of canoes — bad naviga
tion — pedestrian march — vast prairies — deserted camps — Pawnee
squaws — an Otto Indian — news of war — voyage down the Platte
and the Missouri — reception at Fort Osage — arrival at St. Louis. . 177

CHAPTER XXI.

Agreement between Mr. Astor and the Russian Fur Company — war
between the United States and Great Britain— instructions to Cap
tain Sowle of the Beaver— fitting out of the Lark— news of the
arrival of Mr. Stuart. ,185

CONTENTS. Vll

PAGE.

CHAPTER XXII.

Banks of the Wallah- Wallah — departure of David Stuart for the
Oakinagan — Mr. Clarke's route up Lewis river— Chipunnish, or
Pierced-nose Indians — their character, appearance, and habits —
thievish habits — laying up of the boats — post at Pointed Heart and
Spokan rivers — M'Kenzie, his route up the Camoenum — bands of
travelling Indians — expedition of Reed to the caches — adventures
of wandering voyageurs and trappers. • .' . . . . . 1 90

CHAPTER XXIII.

Departure of Mr. Hunt in the Beaver — precautions at the factory
— detachment to the Wollamut — gloomy apprehensions — arrival
of M'Kenzie — affairs at the Shahaptan — news of war — dismay
of M'Dougal — determination to abandon Astoria — departure of
M'Kenzie for the interior — adventure at the rapids — visit to the
ruffians of Wish-ram — a perilous situation — meeting with M'Tavish
and his party — arrival at the Shahaptan — plundered caches — de
termination of the wintering partners not to leave the country —
arrival of Clarke among the Nez Percys — the affair of the silver
goblet — hanging of an Indian — arrival of the wintering partners at
Astoria 198

CHAPTER XXIV.

The partners displeased with M'Dougal — equivocal conduct of that
gentleman — partners agree to abandon Astoria — sale of goods to
M'Tavish — arrangements for the year — manifesto signed by the
partners — departure of M'Tavish for the interior. . . .211

CHAPTER XXV.

Anxieties of Mr. Astor — memorial of the North-west Company —
tidings of a British naval expedition against Astoria — Mr. Astor
applies to government for protection — the frigate Adams ordered
to be fitted out — bright news from Astoria — sunshine suddenly
overclouded. . . . . . . . . . .216

CHAPTER XXVI.

Affairs of state at Astoria — M'Dougal proposes for the hand of an
Indian princess — matrimonial embassy to Comcomly — matrimonial
notions among the Chinooks — settlements and pin money — the
bringing home of the bride — a managing father-in-law — arrival of
Mr. Hunt at Astoria 219

CHAPTER XXVII.

Voyage of the Beaver to New Archangel — a Russian governor — roys-
tering rule — the tyranny of the table — hard drinking bargains —

VU1 CONTENTS.

PAQK.

voyage to Kamschatka — seal-catching establishment at St Paul's —
storms at sea — Mr. Hunt left at the Sandwich islands — transactions
of the Beaver at Canton — return of Mr. Hunt to Astoria. . .223

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Arrangements among the partners — Mr. Hunt sails in the Albatross
— arrives at the Marquesas — news of the frigate Phoebe — Mr. Hunt
proceeds to the Sandwich islands — voyage of the Lark — her ship
wreck — transactions with the natives of the Sandwich islands —
conduct of Tamaahmaah. 232

CHAPTER XXIX.

Arrival of M'Tavish at Astoria — conduct of his followers — negotia
tions of M'Dougal and M'Tavish — bargain for the transfer of As
toria — doubts entertained of the loyalty of M'Dougal. . . . 240

CHAPTER XXX.

Arrival of a strange sail — agitation at Astoria — warlike offer of Com-
comly — Astoria taken possession of by the British — indignation of
Comcomly at the conduct of his son-in-law. ', •':? '„ '.. . . 246

CHAPTER XXXI.

Arrival of the brig Pedlar at Astoria — breaking up of the establish
ment — departure of several of the company — tragical story told by
the squaw of Pierre Dorion — fate of Reed and his companions —
attempts of Mr. Astor to renew his enterprise — disappointment —
concluding observations and reflections. 252

APPENDIX.
Draught of a petition to Congress, sent by Mr. Astor in 1812. . . 265

Letter from Mr. Gallatin to Mr. Astor. 267

Notices of the present state of the Fur Trade, chiefly extracted from

an article published in Silliman's Journal for January, 1834. . 269

Height of the Rocky Mountains. . 274

Suggestions with respect to the Indian tribes, and the protection of our

Trade. ^ f .275

ASTORIA.

CHAPTER I.

A CONSULTATION WHETHER TO PROCEED BY LAND OR WATER PREPARA
TIONS FOR BOAT BUILDING AN EXPLORING PARTY A PARTY OF TRAP
PERS DETACHED TWO SNAKE VISITORS THEIR REPORT CONCERNING THE

RIVER CONFIRMED BY THE EXPLORING PARTY MAD RIVER ABANDONED

ARRIVAL AT HENRY'S FORT DETACHMENT OF ROBINSON, HoBACK

AND REZNER TO TRAP — MR. MILLER RESOLVES TO ACCOMPANY THEM —
THEIR DEPARTURE.

ON the banks of Mad river Mr. Hunt held a consultation with
the other partners as to their future movements. The wild
and impetuous current of the river rendered him doubtful
whether it might not abound with impediments lower down,
sufficient to render the navigation of it slow and perilous, if
not impracticable. The hunters who had acted as guides,
knew nothing of the character of the river below ; what rocks,
and shoals, and rapids might obstruct it, or through what
mountains and deserts it might pass. Should they then
abandon their horses, cast themselves loose in fragile barks
upon this wild, doubtful, and unknown river ; or should they
continue their more toilsome and tedious, but perhaps more
certain wayfaring by land ?

The vote, as might have been expected, was almost unani
mous for embarcation ; for when men are in difficulties every

10 PREPARATIONS FOR BOAT BUILDING.

change seems to be for the better. The difficulty now was
to find timber of sufficient size for the construction of canoes,
the trees in these high mountain regions being chiefly a
scrubbed growth of pines and cedars, aspens, haws and service
berries, and a small kind of cotton tree with a leaf resembling
that of the willow. There was a species of large fir, but so
full of knots as to endanger the axe in hewing it. After
searching for some time, a growth of timber, of sufficient
size, was found lower down the river, whereupon the encamp
ment was moved to the vicinity.

The men were now set to work to fell trees, and the
mountains echoed to the unwonted sound of their axes. While
preparations were thus going on for a voyage down the river,
Mr. Hunt, who still entertained doubts of its practicability,
despatched an exploring party, consisting of John Reed, the
:lerk, John Day the hunter, and Pierre Dorion the interpreter,
with orders to proceed several days march along the stream,
and notice its course and character.

After their departure, Mr. Hunt turned his thoughts to
another object of importance. He had now arrived at the
head waters of the Columbia, which were among the main
points embraced by the enterprize of Mr. Astor. These upper
streams were reputed to abound in beaver, and had as yet
been unmolested by the white trapper. The numerous signs
of beaver met with during the recent search for timber, gave
evidence that the neighborhood was a good " trapping ground."
Here then it was proper to begin to cast loose those leashes
of hardy trappers, that are detached from trading parties, in
the very heart of the wilderness. The men detached in the
present instance were Alexander Carson, Louis St. Michel,
Pierre Detaye, and Pierre Delaunay. Trappers generally go
in pairs, that they may assist, protect and comfort each other

TRAPPERS DETACHED. 11

in their lonely and perilous occupations. Thus Carson and
St. Michel formed one couple, and Detaye and Delaunay
another. They were fitted out with traps, arms, ammunition,
horses and every other requisite, and were to trap upon the
upper part of Mad river, and upon the neighboring streams
of the mountains. This would probably occupy them for
some months ; and, when they should have collected a suf
ficient quantity of peltries, they were to pack them upon their
horses and make the best of their way to the mouth of Co
lumbia river, or to any intermediate post ' which might be
established by the company. They took leave of their com
rades and started off on their several courses with stout hearts,
and cheerful countenances ; though these lonely cruisings into-
a wild and hostile wilderness seem to the uninitiated equiva
lent to being cast adrift in the ship's yawl in the midst of the
ocean.

Of the perils that attend the lonely trapper, the reader
will have sufficient proof, when he comes, in the after part
of this work, to learn the hard fortunes of these poor fellows
in the course of their wild peregrinations.

The trappers had not long departed, when two Snake
Indians wandered into the camp. When they perceived that
the strangers were fabricating canoes, they shook their heads
and gave them to understand that the river was not navigable.
Their information, however, was scoffed at by some of the
party, who were obstinately bent on embarcation, but was
confirmed by the exploring party who returned after several
days absence. They had kept along the river with great dif
ficulty for two days, and found it a narrow, crooked, turbulent
stream, confined in a rocky channel, with many rapids, and
occasionally overhung with precipices. From the summit
of one of these they had caught a bird's eye view of its

12 MAD RIVER ABANDONED.

boisterous career, for a great distance, through the heart of
the mountain, with impending rocks and cliffs. Satisfied,
from this view, that it was useless to follow its course either
by land or water, they had given up all further investigation.

These concurring reports determined Mr. Hunt to abandon
Mad river, and seek some more navigable stream. This
determination was concurred in by all his associates excepting
Mr. Miller, who had become impatient of the fatigue of land
travel, and was for immediate embarcation at all hazards.
This gentleman had been in a gloomy and irritated state of
mind for some time past, being troubled with a bodily malady
that rendered travelling on horseback extremely irksome to
him, and being, moreover, discontented with having a smaller
share in the expedition than his comrades. His unreasonable
objections to a further march by land were overruled, and the
party prepared to decamp.

Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner, the three hunters who had
hitherto served as guides among the mountains, now stepped
forward, and advised Mr. Hunt to make for the post estab
lished during the preceding year by Mr. Henry, of the
Missouri Fur Company. They had been with Mr. Henry,
and, as far as they could judge by the neighboring landmarks,
his post could not be very far off. They presumed there
could be but one intervening ridge of mountains, which might
be passed without any great difficulty. Henry's post, or fort,
was on an upper branch of the Columbia, down which they
made no doubt it would be easy to navigate in canoes.

The two Snake Indians being questioned in the matter,
showed a perfect knowledge of the situation of the post, and
offered, with great alacrity, to guide them to the place. Their
offer was accepted, greatly to the displeasure of Mr. Miller,

HENRY S POST. 13

who seemed obstinately bent upon braving the perils of Mad
river.

The weather for a few days past had been stormy ; with
rain and sleet. The Rocky mountains are subject to tem
pestuous winds from the west ; these, sometimes, come in
flaws or currents, making a path through the forests many
yards in width, and whirling off trunks and branches to a
great distance. The present storm subsided on the third of
October, leaving all the surrounding heights covered with
snow ; for, while rain had fallen in the valley, it had snowed
on the hill tops.

On the 4th, they broke up their encampment, and crossed
the river, the water coming up to the girths of their horses.
After travelling four miles, they encamped at the foot of the
mountain, the last, as they hoped, which they should have to
traverse. Four days more took them across it, and over
several plains, watered by beautiful little streams, tributaries
of Mad river. Near one of their encampments there was a
hot spring continually emitting a cloud of vapor. These
elevated plains, which give a peculiar character to the moun
tains, are frequented by large gangs of antelopes, fleet as the
wind.

On the evening of the 8th October, after a cold wintry day,
with gusts of westerly wind and flurries of snow, they arrived
at the sought for post of Mr. Henry. Here he had fixed him
self, after being compelled by the hostilities of the Blackfeet,
to abandon the upper waters of the Missouri. The post, how
ever, was deserted, for Mr. Henry had left it in the course of
the preceding spring, and, as it afterwards appeared, had fallen
in with Mr. Lisa, at the Arickara village on the Missouri,

sometime after the separation of Mr. Hunt and his party.
VOL. n. 2

14 GUARDIAN SNAKES.

The weary travellers gladly took possession of the deserted
log huts which had formed the post, and which stood on the
bank of a stream upwards of a hundred yards wide, on which
they intended to embark. There being plenty of suitable
timber in the neighborhood, Mr. Hunt immediately proceeded
to construct canoes. As he would have to leave his horses
and their accoutrements here, he determined to make this a
trading post, where the trappers and hunters, to be distributed
about the country, might repair ; and where the traders might
touch on their way through the mountains to and from the
establishment at the mouth of the Columbia. He informed the
two Snake Indians of this determination, and engaged them to
remain in that neighborhood and take care of the horses until
the white men should return, promising them ample rewards
for their fidelity. It may seem a desperate chance to trust to
the faith and honesty of two such vagabonds ; but, as the
horses would have, at all events, to be abandoned, and would
otherwise become the property of the first vagrant horde that
should encounter them, it was one chance in favor of their
being regained.

At this place another detachment of hunters prepared to
separate from the party for the purpose of trapping beaver.
Three of these had already been in this neighborhood, being
the veteran Robinson and his companions, Hoback and Rezner,
who had accompanied Mr. Henry across the mountains, and
who had been picked up by Mr. Hunt on the Missouri, on their
way home to Kentucky. According to agreement they were
fitted out with horses, traps, ammunition, and every thing requi
site for their undertaking, and were to bring in all the peltries
they should collect, either to this trading post, or to the estab
lishment at the mouth of Columbia river. Another hunter, of
the name of Cass, was associated with them in their enter-

SINGULAR RESOLUTION OF MR. MILLER. 15

prise. It is in this way that small knots of trappers and
hunters are distributed about the wilderness by the fur com
panies, and like cranes and bitterns, haunt its solitary streams.
Robinson the Kentuckian, the veteran of the " bloody ground,"
who, as has already been noted, had been scalped by the
Indians in his younger days, was the leader of this little band.
When they were about to depart, Mr. Miller called the partners
together, and threw up his share in the company, declaring
his intention of joining the party of trappers.

This resolution struck every one with astonishment, Mr.
Miller being a man of education and of cultivated habits, and
little fitted for the rude life of a hunter. Beside, the pre
carious and slender profits arising from such a life were
beneath the prospects of one who held a share in the general
enterprise. Mr. Hunt was especially concerned and mortified
at his determination, as it was through his advice and influence
he had entered into the concern. He endeavored, therefore,
to dissuade him from this sudden resolution ; representing its
rashness, and the hardships and perils to which it would
expose him. He earnestly advised him, however he might
feel dissatisfied with the enterprise, still to continue on in
company until they should reach the mouth of Columbia river.
There they would meet the expedition that was to come by
sea ; when, should he still feel disposed to relinquish the
undertaking, Mr. Hunt pledged himself to furnish him a
passage home in one of the vessels belonging to the company.

To all this, Miller replied abruptly, that it was useless to
argue with him, as his mind was made up. They might fur
nish him, or not, as they pleased, with the necessary supplies,
but he was determined to part company here, and set off with
the trappers. So saying, he flung out of their presence with
out vouchsafing any further conversation.

16 THE SNAKE GUIDES.

Much as this wayward conduct gave them anxiety, the part
ners saw it was in vain to remonstrate. Every attention was
paid to fit him out for his headstrong undertaking. He was
provided with four horses, and all the articles he required.
The two Snakes undertook to conduct him and his companions
to an encampment of their tribe, lower down among the moun
tains, from whom they would receive information as to the best
trapping grounds. After thus guiding them, the Snakes were
to return to Fort Henry, as the new trading post was called,
and take charge of the horses which the party would leave
there, of which, after all the hunters were supplied, there
remained seventy-seven. These matters being all arranged,
Mr. Miller set out with his companions, under guidance of the
two Snakes, on the 10th of October ; and much did it grieve
the friends of that gentleman to see him thus wantonly casting
himself loose upon savage life. How he and his comrades
fared in the wilderness, and how the Snakes acquitted them
selves of their trust, respecting the horses, will hereafter
appear in the course of these rambling anecdotes.

A MENDICANT SNAKE. 17

CHAPTER II.

SCANTY FARE — A MENDICANT SNAKE — EMBARCATION ON HENRY RIVER —

JOY Of THE VOYAGEURS ARRIVAL AT SNAKE RIVER RAPIDS AND

BREAKERS BEGINNING OF MISFORTUNES SNAKE ENCAMPMENTS PAR
LEY WITH A SAVAGE A SECOND DISASTER LOSS OF A BOATMAN THE

CALDRON LINN.

WHILE the canoes were in preparation, the hunters ranged
about the neighborhood, but with little success. Tracks of
buffaloes were to be seen in all directions, but none of a fresh
date. There were some elk, but extremely wild ; two only
were killed. Antelopes were likewise seen, but too shy and
fleet to be approached. A few beavers were taken every night,
and salmon trout of a small size, so that the camp had princi
pally to subsist upon dried buffalo meat.

On the 14th, a poor, half-naked Snake Indian, one of that
forlorn caste called the Shuckers, or diggers, made his appear
ance at the camp. He came from some lurking place among
the rocks and cliffs, and presented a picture of that famishing
wretchedness to which these lonely fugitives among the moun
tains are sometimes reduced. Having received wherewithal
to allay his hunger, he disappeared, but in the course of a day
or two returned to the camp bringing with him his son, a
miserable boy, still more naked and forlorn than himself.
Food was given to both ; they skulked about the camp like

hungry hounds, seeking what they -might devour, and having

2*

18 SNAKE RIVER.

gathered up the feet and entrails of some beavers that were
lying about, slunk off with them to their den among the rocks.

By the 18th of October, fifteen canoes were completed, and
on the following day the party embarked with their effects ;
leaving their horses grazing about the banks, and trusting to
the honesty of the two Snakes, and some special turn of good
luck for their future recovery.

The current bore them along at a rapid rate; the light
spirits of the Canadian voyageurs, which had occasionally
flagged upon land, rose to their accustomed buoyancy on find
ing themselves again upon the water. They wielded their
paddles with their wonted dexterity, and for the first time made
the mountains echo with their favorite boat songs.

In the course of the day the little squadron arrived at the
confluence of Henry and Mad rivers, which, thus united,
swelled into a beautiful stream of a light pea-green color,
navigable for boats of any size, and which, from the place
of junction, took the name of Snake river, a stream doomed to
be the scene of much disaster to the travellers. The banks
were here and there fringed with willow thickets and small
cotton-wood trees. - The weather was cold, and it snowed all
day, and great flocks of ducks and geese, sporting in the water
or streaming through the air, gave token that winter was at
hand ; yet the hearts of the travellers were light, and, as they
glided down the little river, they flattered themselves with the
hope of soon reaching the Columbia. After making thirty
miles in a southerly direction, they encamped for the night in
a neighborhood which required some little vigilance, as there
were recent traces of grizzly bears among the thickets.

On the following day the river increased in width and
beauty ; flowing parallel to a range of mountains on the left,
which at times were finely reflected in its light green waters.

THE BEGINNING OF TROUBLES. 19

The three snowy summits of the Pilot Knobs or Tetons, were
still seen towering in the distance. After pursuing a swift but
placid course for twenty miles, the current began to foam and
brawl, and assume the wild and broken character common to
the streams west of the Rocky mountains. In fact the rivers
which flow from those mountains to the Pacific, are essentially
different from those which traverse the great prairies on their
eastern declivities. The latter, though sometimes boisterous,
are generally free from obstructions, and easily navigated ; but
the rivers to the west of the mountains descend more steeply
and impetuously, and are continually liable to cascades and
rapids. The latter abounded in the part of the river which
the travellers were now descending. Two of the canoes
filled among the breakers ; the crews were saved, but much
of the lading was lost or damaged, and one of the canoes
drifted down the stream and was broken among the rocks.

On the following day, October 21st, they made but a short
distance when they came to a dangerous strait, where the river
was compressed for nearly half a mile between perpendicular
rocks, reducing it to the width of twenty yards, and increasing
its violence. Here they were obliged to pass the canoes down
cautiously by a line from the impending banks. This con
sumed a great part of a day ; and after they had re-embarked
they were soon again impeded by rapids, when they had to
unload their canoes and carry them and their cargoes for some
distance by land. It is at these places, called "portages,"
that the Canadian voyageur exhibits his most valuable qual
ities ; carrying heavy burdens, and toiling to and fro, on land
and in the water, over rocks and precipices, among brakes
and brambles, not only without a murmur, but with the greatest
cheerfulness and alacrity, joking and laughing and singing
scraps of old French ditties.

20 SCENERY OF SNAKE RIVER.

The spirits of the party, however, which had been elated
on first varying their journeying from land to water, had now
lost some of their buoyancy. Every thing ahead was wrapped
in uncertainty. They knew nothing of the river on which
they were floating. It had never before been navigated by a
white man, nor could they meet with an Indian to give them
any information concerning it. It kept on its course through
a vast wilderness of silent and apparently uninhabited moun
tains, without a savage wigwam upon its banks, or bark upon
its waters. The difficulties and perils they had already
passed, made them apprehend others before them, that might
effectually bar their progress. As they glided onward, how
ever, they regained heart and hope. The current continued
to be strong ; but it was steady, and though they met with
frequent rapids, none of them were bad. Mountains were
constantly to be seen in different directions, but sometimes
the swift river glided through prairies, and was bordered by
small cotton-wood trees and willows. These prairies at
certain seasons are ranged by migratory herds of the wide-
wandering buffalo, the tracks of which, though not of recent
date, were frequently to be seen. Here, too, were to be found
the prickly pear or Indian fig, a plant which loves a more
southern climate. On the land were large flights of magpies,
and American robins ; whole fleets of ducks and geese navi
gated the river, or flew off in long streaming files at the
approach of the canoes ; while the frequent establishments
of the pains-taking and quiet-loving beaver, showed that the
solitude of these waters was rarely disturbed, even by the all-
pervading savage.

They had now come near two hundred and eighty miles
since leaving Fort Henry, yet without seeing a human being,
or a human habitation ; a wild and desert solitude extended on

SHOSHONIE TENTS. 21

either side of the river, apparently almost destitute of animal
life. At length, on the 24th of October, they were gladdened
by the sight of some savage tents, and hastened to land, and
visit them, for they were anxious to procure information to
guide them on their route. On their approach, however, the
savages fled in consternation. They proved to be a wandering
band of Shoshonies. In their tents were great quantities of
small fish about two inches long, together with roots and
seeds, or grain, which they were drying for winter provisions.
They appeared to be destitute of tools of any kind, yet there
were bows and arrows very well made ; the former were
formed of pine, cedar or bone, strengthened by sinews, and
the latter of the wood of rose bushes, and other crooked plants,
but carefully straightened, and tipped with stone of a bottle-
green color.

There were also vessels of willow and grass, so closely
wrought as to hold water, and a seine neatly made with
meshes, in the ordinary manner, of the fibres of wild flax or
nettle. The humble effects of the poor savages remained
unmolested by their visiters, and a few small articles, with a
knife or two, were left in the camp, and were no doubt
regarded as invaluable prizes.

Shortly after leaving this deserted camp, and re-embarking
in the canoes, the travellers met with three of the Snakes on
a triangular raft made of flags or reeds ; such was their rude
mode of navigating the river. They were entirely naked ex
cepting small mantles of hare skins over their shoulders. The
canoes approached near enough to gain a full view of them,
but they were not to be brought to a parley.

All further progress for the day was barred by a fall in the
river of about thirty feet perpendicular ; at the head of which
the party encamped for the night.

22 PARLEY WITH A SNAKE.

The next day was one of excessive toil and but little pro
gress : the river winding through a wild rocky country, and
being interrupted by frequent rapids, among which the canoes
were in great peril. On the succeeding day they again visited
a camp of wandering Snakes, but the inhabitants fled with
terror at the sight of a fleet of canoes, filled with white men,
coming down their solitary river.

As Mr. Hunt was extremely anxious to gain information
concerning his route, he endeavored by all kinds of friendly
signs to entice back the fugitives. At length one, who was
on horseback, ventured back with fear and trembling. He
was better clad, and in better condition than most of his
vagrant tribe that Mr. Hunt had yet seen. The chief object
of his return appeared to be to intercede for a quantity of dried
meat and salmon trout, which he had left behind ; on which,
probably, he depended for his winter's subsistence. The poor
wretch approached with hesitation, the alternate dread of
famine and of white men operating upon his mind. He made
the most abject signs, imploring Mr. Hunt not to carry off his
food. The latter tried in every way to reassure him, and
offered him knives in exchange for his provisions ; great as
was the temptation, the poor Snake could only prevail upon
himself to spare a part ; keeping a feverish watch over the
rest, lest it should be taken away. It was in vain Mr. Hunt
made inquiries of him concerning his route, and the course of
the river. The Indian was too much frightened and bewil
dered to comprehend him or to reply ; he did nothing but
alternately commend himself to the protection of the Good
Spirit, and supplicate Mr. Hunt not to take away his fish and
buffalo meat ; and in this state they left him, trembling about
his treasures

FATE OF CLAPPINE. 23

In the course of that and the next day they made nearly
eighty miles ; the river inclining to the south of west, and
being clear and beautiful, nearly half a mile in width, with
many populous communities of the beaver along its banks.
The 28th of October, however, was a day of disaster. The
river again become rough and impetuous, and was chafed and
broken by numerous rapids. These grew more and more
dangerous, and the utmost skill was required to steer among
them. Mr. Crooks was seated in the second canoe of the
squadron, and had an old experienced Canadian for steersman,
named Antoine Clappine, one of the most valuable of the
voyageurs. The leading canoe had glided safely among the
turbulent and roaring surges, but in following it, Mr. Crooks
perceived that his canoe was bearing towards a rock. He
called out to the steersman, but his warning voice was either
unheard or unheeded. In the next moment they struck upon
the rock. The canoe was split and overturned. There were
five persons on board. Mr. Crooks and one of his companions
were thrown amidst roaring breakers and a whirling current,
but succeeded, by strong swimming, to reach the shore. Clap-
pine and two others clung to the shattered bark, and drifted
with it to a rock. The wreck struck the rock with one end,
and swinging round flung poor Clappine off into the raging
stream, which swept him away, and he perished. His com
rades succeeded in getting upon the rock, from whence they
were afterwards taken off.

This disastrous event brought the whole squadron to a halt,
and struck a chill into every bosom. Indeed, they had arrived
at a terrific strait, that forbade all further progress in the
canoes, and dismayed the most experienced voyageur. The
whole body of the river was compressed into a space of less

24 THE CALDRON LINN.

than thirty feet in width, between two ledges of rocks, upwards
of two hundred feet high, and formed a whirling and tumultuous
vortex, so frightfully agitated, as to receive the name of " The
Caldron Linn." Beyond this fearful abyss, the river kept
raging and roaring on, until lost to sight among impending
precipices.

EXPLORING PARTIES. 25

CHAPTER III.

GLOOMY COUNCIL — EXPLORING PARTIES — DISCOURAGING REPORTS — DISAS
TROUS EXPERIMENT DETACHMENTS IN QUEST OF SUCCOR CACHES, HOW

MADE RETURN OF ONE OF THE DETACHMENTS UNSUCCESSFUL FURTHER

DISAPPOINTMENTS THE DEVIL'S SCUTTLE HOLE.

MR. HUNT and his companions encamped upon the borders of
the Caldron Linn, and held gloomy council as to their future
course. The recent wreck had dismayed even the voyageurs,
and the fate of their popular comrade, Clappine, one of the
most adroit and experienced of their fraternity, had struck
sorrow to their hearts, for, with all their levity, these thought
less beings have great kindness towards each other.

The whole distance they had navigated since leaving
Henry's fort, was computed to be about three hundred and
forty miles ; strong apprehensions were now entertained that
the tremendous impediments before them would oblige them to
abandon their canoes. It was determined to send exploring
parties on each side of the river, to ascertain whether it was
possible to navigate it .further. Accordingly, on the following
morning three men were despatched along the south bank,
while Mr. Hunt and three others proceeded along the north.
The two parties returned after a weary scramble among
swamp, rocks, and precipices, and with very disheartening
accounts. For nearly forty miles that they had explored, the
river foamed and roared along through a deep and narrow

26 DANGERS AND DIFFICULTIES.

channel, from twenty to thirty yards wide, which it had worn,
in the course of ages, through the heart of a barren rocky
country. The precipices on each side, were often two and
three hundred feet high, sometimes perpendicular and some
times overhanging, so that it was impossible, excepting in one
or two places, to get down to the margin of the stream. This
dreary strait was rendered the more dangerous by frequent
rapids, and occasionally perpendicular falls from ten to forty
feet in height ; so that it seemed almost hopeless to attempt
to pass the canoes down it. The party, however, who had
explored the south side of the river had found a place, about
six miles from the camp, where they thought it possible the
canoes might be carried down the bank and launched upon
the stream, and from whence they might make their way with
the aid of occasional portages. Four of the best canoes were
accordingly selected for the experiment, and were transported
to the place on the shoulders of sixteen of the men. At the
same time, Mr. Reed the clerk, and three men, were detached
to explore the river still further down than the previous scout
ing parties had been, and at the same time to look out for
Indians from whom provisions might be obtained, and a supply
of horses, should it be found necessary to proceed by land.

The party who had been sent with the canoes returned on
the following day, weary and dejected. One of the canoes
had been swept away with all the weapons and effects of
four of the voyageurs, in attempting to pass it down a rapid
by means of a line. The other three had stuck fast among
the rocks, so that it was impossible to move them ; the
men returned, therefore, in despair, and declared the river
unnavigable.

The situation of the unfortunate travellers was now gloomy
in the extreme. They were in the heart of an unknown

FORAGING DETACHMENTS. 27

wilderness, untraversed as yet by a white man. They were
at a loss what route to take, and how far they were from the
ultimate place of their destination, nor could they meet, in
these uninhabited wilds, with any human being to give them
information. The repeated accidents to their canoes had
reduced their stock of provisions to five days allowance, and
there was now every appearance of soon having famine added
to their other sufferings.

This last circumstance rendered it more perilous to keep
together than to separate. Accordingly, after a little anxious
but bewildered council, it was determined that several small
detachments should start off in different directions, headed by
the several partners. Should any of them succeed in falling
in with friendly Indians, within a reasonable distance, and
obtaining a supply of provisions and horses, they were to
return to the aid of the main body : otherwise, they were to
shift for themselves, and shape their course according to cir
cumstances ; keeping the mouth of Columbia river as the
ultimate point of their wayfaring. Accordingly, three several
parties set off from the camp at Caldron Linn, in opposite di
rections. Mr. M'Lellan, with three men, kept down along the
bank of the river. Mr. Crooks, with five others, turned their
steps up it; retracing by land the weary course they had
made by water, intending, should they not find relief nearer at
hand, to keep on until they should reach Henry's fort, where
they hoped to find the horses they had left there, and to return
with them to the main body.

The third party, composed of five men, was headed by Mr.
M'Kenzie, who struck to the northward, across the desert
plains, in hopes of coming upon the main stream of the
Columbia.

Having seen these three adventurous bands depart upon

£8 A CACHE.

their forlorn expeditions, Mr. Hunt turned his thoughts to
provide for the subsistence of the main body left to his charge,
and to prepare for their future march. There remained with
him thirty-one men, beside the squaw and two children of
Pierre Dorion. There was no game to be met with in the
neighborhood ; but beavers were occasionally trapped about
the river banks, which afforded a scanty supply of food ; in
the meantime they comforted themselves that some one or
other of the foraging detachments would be successful, and
return with relief.

Mr. Hunt n«ow set to work with all diligence, to prepare
caches, in which to deposite the baggage and merchandize, of
which it would be necessary to disburthen themselves, prepa
ratory to their weary march by land ; and here we shall give
a brief description of those contrivances, so noted in the

•

wilderness.

A cache is a term common among traders and hunters, to
designate a hiding place for provisions and effects. It is
derived from the French word cacher, to conceal, and origi
nated among the early colonists of Canada and Louisiana ;
but the secret depository which it designates was in use
among the aboriginals long before the intrusion of the white
men. It is, in fact, the only mode that migratory hordes
have of preserving their valuables from robbery, during their
long absences from their villages or accustomed haunts, on
hunting expeditions, or during the vicissitudes of war. The
utmost skill and caution are required to render these places of
concealment invisible to the lynx eye of an Indian. The first
care is to seek out a proper situation, which is generally some
dry low bank of clay, on the margin of a water course. As
soon as the precise spot is pitched upon, blankets, saddle
cloths, and other coverings, are spread over the surrounding

A CACHE. 29

grass and bushes, to prevent foot tracks, or any other derange
ment ; and as few hands as possible are employed. A circle
of about two feet in diameter is then nicely cut in the sod,
which is carefully removed, with the loose soil immediately
beneath it, and laid aside in a place where it will be safe from
any thing that may change its appearance. The uncovered
area is then digged perpendicularly to the depth of about three
feet, and is then gradually widened so as to form a conical
chamber six or seven feet deep. The whole of the earth
displaced by this process, being of a different color from that
on the surface, is handed up in a vessel, and heaped into a
skin or cloth, in which it is conveyed to the stream and thrown
into the midst of the current, that it may be entirely carried
off. Should the cache not be formed in the vicinity of a
stream, the earth thus thrown up is carried to a distance, and
scattered in such manner as not to leave the minutest trace.
The cave being formed, is well lined with dry grass, bark,
sticks, and poles, and occasionally a dried hide. The pro
perty intended to be hidden is then laid in, after having been
well aired : a hide is spread over it, and dried grass, brush,
and stones, thrown in, and trampled down until the pit is filled
to the neck. The loose soil, which had been put aside, is
then brought, and rammed down firmly, to prevent its caving
in, and is frequently sprinkled with water, to destroy the scent,
lest the wolves and bears should be attracted to the place, and
root up the concealed treasure. When the neck of the cache
is nearly level with the surrounding surface, the sod is again
fitted in with the utmost exactness, and any bushes, stocks,
or stones, that may have originally been about the spot, are
restored to their former places. The blankets and other
coverings are then removed from the surrounding herbage :
all tracks are obliterated : the grass is gently raised by the

30 RETURN OF MR. CROOKS.

hand to its natural position, and the minutest chip or straw is
scrupulously gleaned up and thrown into the stream. After
all is done, the place is abandoned for the night, and, if all be
right next morning, is not visited again, until there be a neces
sity for re-opening the cache. Four men are sufficient in this
way, to conceal the amount of three tons weight of provisions
or merchandize, in the course of two days. Nine caches
were required to contain the goods and baggage which Mr.
Hunt found it necessary to leave at this place.

Three days had been thus employed since the departure of
the several detachments, when that of Mr. Crooks unexpect
edly made its appearance. A momentary joy was diffused
through the camp, for they supposed succor to be at hand. It
was soon dispelled. Mr. Crooks and his companions had
become completely disheartened by this retrograde march
through a bleak and barren country ; and had found, computing
from their progress and the accumulating difficulties besetting
every step, that it would be impossible to reach Henry's fort,
and return to the main body in the course of the winter. They
had determined, therefore, to rejoin their comrades, and share
their lot.

One avenue of hope was thus closed upon the anxious
sojourners at the Caldron Linn ; their main expectation of
relief was now from the two parties under Reed and M'Lellan,
which had proceeded down the river ; for, as to Mr. M'Ken-
zie's detachment, which had struck across the plains, they
thought it would have sufficient difficulty in struggling forward
through the trackless wilderness. For five days they con
tinued to support themselves by trapping and fishing. Some
fish of tolerable size were speared at night by the light of
cedar torches ; others, that were very small, were caught in
Bets with fine meshes. The product of their fishing, however,

THE DEVIL'S SCUTTLE HOLE. 31

was very scanty. Their trapping was also precarious ; and
the tails and bellies of the beavers were dried and put by for
the journey.

At length, two of the companions of Mr. Reed returned, and
were hailed with the most anxious eagerness. Their report
served but to increase the general despondency. They had
followed Mr. Reed for some distance below the point to which
Mr. Hunt had explored, but had met with no Indians, from
whom to obtain information and relief. The river still pre
sented the same furious aspect, brawling and boiling along
a narrow and rugged channel, between rocks that rose like
walls.

A lingering hope, which had been indulged by some of the
party, of proceeding by water, was now finally given up : the
long and terrific strait of the river set all further progress at
defiance, and in their disgust at the place, and their vexation
at the disasters sustained there, they gave it the indignant,
though not very decorous appellation, of the Devil's Scuttle
Hole.

32 A NEW DETERMINATION.

CHAPTER IV.

DETERMINATION OF THE PARTY TO PROCEED ON FOOT — DREARY DESERTS
BETWEEN SNAKE RIVER AND THE COLUMBIA — DISTRIBUTION OF EFFECTS

PREPARATORY TO A MARCH DIVISION OF THE PARTY RUGGED MARCH

ALONG THE RIVER WILD AND BROKEN SCENERY SHOSHONIES ALARM

OF A SNAKE ENCAMPMENT — INTERCOURSE WITH THE SNAKES — HORSE

DEALING— VALUE OF A TIN KETTLE SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST A HORSE

RECLAIMED FORTITUDE OF AN INDIAN WOMAN SCARCITY OF FOOD

DOG'S FLESH A DAINTY NEWS OF MR CROOKS AND HIS PARTY PAIN
FUL TRAVELLING AMONG THE MOUNTAINS SNOW STORMS A DREARY

MOUNTAIN PROSPECT A BIVOUACK DURING A WINTRY NIGHT RETURN

TO THE RIVER BANK.

THE resolution of Mr. Hunt and his companions was now
taken to set out immediately on foot. As to the other detach
ments that had in a manner gone forth to seek their fortunes,
there was little chance of their return ; they would probably
make their own way throught the wilderness. At any rate,
to linger in the vague hope of relief from them, would be to
run the risk of perishing with hunger. Besides, the winter
was rapidly advancing, and they had a long journey to make
through an unknown country, where all kinds of perils might
await them. They were yet, in fact, a thousand miles from
Astoria, but the distance was unknown to them at the time :
every thing before and around them was vague and conjectural*
and wore an aspect calculated to inspire despondency.

THE DESERTS OF SNAKE RIVER. 33

In abandoning the river, they would have to launch forth
upon vast trackless plains destitute of all means of subsistence,
where they might perish of hunger and thirst. A dreary
desert of sand and gravel extends from Snake river almost to
the Columbia. Here and there is a thin and scanty herbage,
insufficient for the pasturage of horse or buffalo. Indeed
these treeless wastes between the Rocky mountains and the
Pacific, are even more desolate and barren than the naked,
upper prairies on the Atlantic side ; they present vast desert
tracts that must ever defy cultivation, and interpose dreary
and thirsty wilds between the habitations of man, in traversing
which, the wanderer will often be in danger of perishing. ,

Seeing the hopeless character of these wastes, Mr. Hunt
and his companions determined to keep along the course of
the river, where they would always have water at hand and
would be able occasionally to procure fish, and beaver, and
might perchance meet with Indians, from whom they could
obtain provisions.

They now made their final preparations for the march. All
their remaining stock of provisions consisted of forty pounds
of Indian corn, twenty pounds of grease, about five pounds
of portable soup, and a sufficient quantity of dried meat to
allow each man a pittance of five pounds and a quarter, to be
reserved for emergencies. This being properly distributed,
they deposited all their goods and superfluous articles in the
caches, taking nothing with them but what was indispensible
to the journey. With all their management, each man had
to carry twenty pound's weight beside his own articles and
equipments.

That they might have the better chance of procuring sub
sistence in the scanty .regions they were to traverse, they
divided their party into two bands, Mr. Hunt, with eighteen

•*<r

34 MARCH ALONG THE RIVER.

men, beside Pierre Dorion and his family, was to proceed
down the north side of the river, while Mr. Crooks with
eighteen men, kept along the south side.

On the morning of the 9th of October, the two parties
separated and set forth on their several courses. Mr. Hunt
and his companions followed along the right bank of the river,
which made its way far below them, brawling at the foot of
perpendicular precipices of solid rock, two and three hundred
feet high. For twenty-eight miles that they travelled this day,
they found it impossible to get down to the margin of the
stream. At the end of this distance they encamped for the
night at a place which admitted a scrambling descent. It was
with the greatest difficulty, however, that they succeeded in
getting up a kettle of water from the river for the use of the
camp. As some rain had fallen in the afternoon, they passed
the night under the shelter of the rocks.

The next day they continued thirty-two miles to the north
west, keeping along the river, which still ran in its deep cut
channel. Here and there a sandy beach or a narrow strip
of soil, fringed with dwarf willows, would extend for a little
distance along the foot of the cliffs, and sometimes a reach
of still water would intervene like a smooth mirror between
the foaming rapids.

As through the preceding day, they journeyed on without
finding, except in one instance, any place where they could
get down to the river's edge, and they were fain to allay the
thirst caused by hard travelling, with the water collected in
the hollow of the rocks.

In the course of their march on the following morning, they
fell into a beaten horse path leading along the river, which
showed that they were in the neighborhood of some Indian
village or encampment. They had not proceeded far along it,

SHOSHONIE LODGES. 35

when they met with two Shoshonies, or Snakes. They
approached with some appearance of uneasiness, and accost
ing Mr. Hunt, held up a knife, which by signs they let him
know they had received from some of the white men of the
advance parties. It was with some difficulty that Mr. Hunt
prevailed upon one of the savages to conduct him to the lodges
of his people. Striking into a trail or path which led up from
the river, he guided them for some distance in the prairie,
until they came in sight of a number of lodges made of straw,
and shaped like hay stacks. Their approach, as on former
occasions, caused the wildest affright among the inhabitants.
The women hid such of their children as were too large to
be carried, and too small to take care of themselves, under
straw, and, clasping their infants to their breasts, fled across
the prairie. The men awaited the approach of the strangers,
but evidently in great alarm.

Mr. Hunt entered the lodges, and, as he was looking about,
observed where the children were concealed ; their black eyes
glistening like those of snakes, from beneath the straw. He
lifted up the covering to look at them ; the poor little beings
were horribly frightened, and their fathers' stood trembling, as
if a beast of prey were about to pounce upon the brood.

The friendly manner of Mr. Hunt soon dispelled these
apprehensions ; he succeeded in purchasing some excellent
dried salmon, and a dog, an animal much esteemed as food,
by the natives ; and when he returned to the river one of the
Indians accompanied him. He now came to where lodges
were frequent along the banks, and, after a day's journey of
twenty-six miles to the northwest, encamped in a populous
neighborhood. Forty or fifty of the natives soon visited the
camp, conducting themselves in a very amicable manner.
They were well clad, and all had buffalo robes, which they

36 CURED SALMON.

procured from some of the hunting tribes in exchange for
salmon. Their habitations were very comfortable ; each had
its pile of wormwood at the door for fuel, and within was
abundance of salmon, some fresh, but the greater part cured.
When the white men visited the lodges, however, the women
and children hid themselves through fear. Among the supplies
obtained here were two dogs, on which our travellers break
fasted, and found them to be very excellent, well-flavored,
and hearty food.

In the course of the three following days, they made about
sixty-three miles, generally in a north-west direction. They
met with many of the natives in their straw-built cabins who
received them without alarm. About their dwellings were
immense quantities of the heads and skins of salmon, the best
parts of which had been cured, and hidden in the ground.
The women were badly clad ; the children worse ; their gar
ments were buffalo robes, or the skins of foxes, wolves, hares
and badgers, and sometimes the skins of ducks, sewed to
gether, with the plumage on. Most of the skins must have
been procured by traffic with other tribes, or in distant hunt
ing excursions, for the naked prairies in the neighborhood
afforded few animals, excepting horses, which were abundant.
There were signs of buffaloes having been there, but a long
time before.

On the 15th of November, they made twenty-eight miles
along the river which was entirely free from rapids. The
shores were lined with dead salmon, which tainted the whole
atmosphere. The natives whom they met spoke of Mr. Reed's
party having passed through that neighborhood. In the course
of the day Mr. Hunt saw a few horses, but the owners of them
took care to hurry them out of the way. All the provisions
they were able to procure, were two dogs and a salmon. On

VALUE OF A TIN KETTLE. 37

the following day they were still worse off, having to subsist
on parched corn, and the remains of their dried meat. The
river this day had resumed its turbulent character, forcing its
way through a narrow channel between steep rocks, and down
violent rapids. They made twenty miles over a rugged road,
gradually approaching a mountain in the northwest, covered
with snow, which had been in sight for three days past.

On the 17th, they met with several Indians, one of whom
had a horse. Mr. Hunt was extremely desirous of obtaining
it as a pack horse ; for the men, worn down by fatigue and
hunger, found the loads of twenty pound's weight which they
had to carry, daily growing heavier and more galling. The
Indians, however, along this river, were never willing to part
with their horses, having none to spare. The owner of the
steed in question seemed proof against all temptation ; article
after article of great value in Indian eyes was offered and
refused. The charms of an old tin kettle, however, were
irresistible, and a bargain was concluded.

A great part of the following morning was consumed in
lightening the packages of the men and arranging the load for
the horse. At this encampment there was no wood for fuel,
even the wormwood on which they had frequently depended,
having disappeared. For the two last days they had made
thirty miles to the northwest.

On the 19th of November, Mr. Hunt was lucky enough to
purchase another horse for his own use, giving in exchange
a tomahawk, a knife, a fire steel, and some beads and garter
ing. In an evil hour, however, he took the advice of the
Indians to abandon the river, and follow a road or trail, leading
into the prairies. He soon had cause to repent the change.
The road led across a dreary waste, without verdure ; and
where there was neither fountain, nor pool, nor running stream.

VOL. II. 4

38 SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST.

The men now began to experience the torments of thirst,
aggravated by their usual diet of dried fish. The thirst of
the Canadian voyageurs became so insupportable as to drive
them to the most revolting means of allaying it. For twenty-
five miles did they toil on across this dismal desert, and laid
themselves down at night, parched and disconsolate, beside
their wormwood fires ; looking forward to still greater suffer
ings on the following day. Fortunately it began to rain in the
night, to their infinite relief; the water soon collected in
puddles and afforded them delicious draughts.

Refreshed in this manner, they resumed their wayfaring as
soon as the first streaks of dawn gave light enough for them
to see their path. The rain continued all day so that they no
longer suffered from thirst, but hunger took its place, for, after
travelling thirty-three miles they had nothing to sup on but
a little parched corn. .

The next day brought them to the banks of a beautiful little
stream, running to the west, and fringed with groves of cotton-
wood and willow. On its borders was an Indian camp, with
a great many horses grazing around it. The inhabitants, too,
appeared to be better clad than usual. The scene was al
together a cheering one to the poor half-famished wanderers.
They hastened to the lodges, but on arriving at them, met
with a check that at first dampened their cheerfulness. An
Indian immediately laid claim to the horse of Mr. Hunt,
saying that it had been stolen from him. There was no dis
proving a fact, supported by numerous bystanders, and which
the horse stealing habits of the Indians rendered but too
probable ; so Mr. Hunt relinquished his steed to the claimant ;
not being able to retain him by a second purchase.

At this place they encamped for the night and made a sump
tuous repast upon fish and a couple of dogs, procured from

FORTITUDE OF THE INDIAN WOMEN. 39

their Indian neighbors. The next day they kept along the
river, but came to a halt after ten miles march, on account
of the rain. Here they again got a supply of fish and dogs
from the natives ; and two of the men were fortunate enough
each to get a horse in exchange for a buffalo robe. One
of these men was Pierre Dorion, the half-breed interpreter,
to whose suffering family the horse was a most timely acquisi
tion. And here we cannot but notice the wonderful patience,
perseverance and hardihood of the Indian women, as exem
plified in- the conduct of the poor squaw of the interpreter.
She was now far advanced in her pregnancy, and had two
children to take care of; one four, and the other two years
of age. The latter of course she had frequently to carry on
her back, in addition to the burthen usually imposed upon the
squaw, yet she had borne all her hardships without a murmur
and throughout this weary and painful journey, had kept pace
with the best of the pedestrians. Indeed on various occa
sions in the course of this enterprise, she displayed a force
of character that won the respect and applause of the white
men.

Mr. Hunt endeavored to gather some information from
these Indians concerning the country, and the course of the
rivers. His communications with them had to be by signs,
and a few words which he had learnt, and of course were
extremely vague. All that he could learn from them was,
that the great river, the Columbia, was still far distant, but he
could ascertain nothing as to the route he ought to take to
arrive at it. For the two following days they continued west
ward upward of forty miles along the little stream, until they
crossed it just before its junction with Snake river, which
they found still running to the north. Before them was a
wintry looking mountain covered with snow on all sides.

40 SCARCITY OF FOOD.

In three days more they made about seventy miles ; fording
two small rivers, the waters of which were very cold. Pro
visions were extremely scarce ; their chief sustenance was
portable soup ; a meagre diet for weary pedestrians.

On the 27th of November the river led them into the moun
tains through a rocky defile where there was scarcely room
to pass. They were frequently obliged to unload the horses
to get them by the narrow places ; and sometimes to wade
through the water in getting round rocks and butting cliffs.
All their food this day was a beaver which they had caught
the night before ; by evening, the cravings of hunger were so
sharp, and the prospect of any supply among the mountains
so faint, that they had to kill one of the horses. " The men,"
says Mr. Hunt, in his journal, " find the meat very good, and
indeed, so should I, were it not for the attachment I have to
the animal."

Early in the following day, after proceeding ten miles to
the north, they came to two lodges of Shoshonies : who
seemed in nearly as great an extremity as themselves, having
just killed two horses for food. They had no other provisions
excepting the seed of a weed which they gather in great
quantities, and pound fine. It resembles hemp seed. Mr.
Hunt purchased a bag of it and also some small pieces of
horse flesh which he began to relish, pronouncing them " fat
and tender."

From these Indians he received information that several
white men had gone down the river, some one side, and a
good many on the other ; these last he concluded to be Mr.
Crooks and his party. He was thus released from much
anxiety about their safety, especially as the Indians spoke of
Mr. Crooks having one of his dogs yet, which showed that he
and his men had not been reduced to extremity of hunger.

TOILSOME PROGRESS. 41

As Mr. Hunt feared that he might be several days in pass
ing through this mountain defile, and run the risk of famine,
he encamped in the neighborhood of the Indians, for the pur
pose of bartering with them for a horse. The evening was
expended in ineffectual trials. He offered a gun, a buffalo
robe, and various other articles. The poor fellows had,
probably, like himself, the fear of starvation before their eyes.
At length the women, learning the object of his pressing
solicitations, and tempting offers, set up such a terrible hue
and cry, that he was fairly howled and scolded from the
ground.

The next morning early, the Indians seemed very desirous
to get rid of their visiters, fearing, probably for the safety
of their horses. ' In reply to Mr. Hunt's enquiries about the
mountains, they told him that he would have to sleep but three
nights more among them ; and that six days travelling would
take him to the falls of the Columbia ; information in which
he put no faith, believing it was only given to induce him to
set forward. These, he was told, were the last Snakes he
would meet with, and that he would soon come to a nation
called Sciatogas.

Forward then did he proceed on his tedious journey, which,
at every step grew more painful. The road continued for
two days, through narrow defiles, where they were repeatedly
obliged to unload the horses. Sometimes the river passed
through such rocky chasms and under such steep precipices
that they had to leave it, and make their way, with excessive
labor, over immense hills, almost impassable for horses. On
some of these hills were a few pine trees, and their summits
were covered with snow. On the second day of this scramble
one of the hunters killed a black-tailed deer, which afforded

the half-starved travellers a sumptuous repast. Their progress

4*

42 DREARY TRAVELLING.

these two days was twenty-eight miles, a little to the north
ward of east.

The month of December set in drearily, with rain in the
vallies, and snow upon the hills. They had to climb a moun
tain with snow to the midleg, which increased their painful
toil. A small beaver supplied them with a scanty meal, which
they eked out with frozen blackberries, haws, and choke-
cherries, which they found in the course of their scramble.
Their journey this day, though excessively fatiguing, was but
thirteen miles ; and all the next day they had to remain en
camped, not being able to see half a mile ahead, on account
of a snow storm. Having nothing else to eat, they were com
pelled to kill another of their horses. The next day they
resumed their march in snow and rain, but with all their
efforts could only get forward nine miles, having for a part
of the distance to unload the horses and carry the packs them
selves. On the succeeding morning they were obliged to
leave the river, and scramble up the hills. From the summit
of these, they got a wide view of the surrounding country,
and it was a prospect almost sufficient to make them despair.
In every direction they beheld snowy mountains, partially
sprinkled with pines and other evergreens, and spreading a
desert and toilsome world around them. The wind howled
over the bleak and wintry landscape, and seemed to penetrate
to the marrow of their bones. They waded on through the
snow which at every step was more than knee deep.

After toiling in this way all day, they had the mortification to
find that they were but four miles distant from the encampment
of the preceding night, such was the meandering of the river
among these dismal hills. Pinched with famine, exhausted
with fatigue, with evening approaching, and a wintry wild still
lengthening as they advanced ; they began to look forward

RAIN AND SNOW. 43

with sad forebodings to the night's exposure upon this frightful
waste. Fortunately they succeeded in reaching a cluster of
pines about sunset. Their axes were immediately at work ;
they cut down trees, piled them up in great heaps, and soon
had huge fires " to cheer their cold and hungry hearts."

About three o'clock in the morning it again began to snow,
and at daybreak they found themselves, as it were, in a cloud ;
scarcely being able to distinguish objects at the distance of a
hundred yards. Guiding themselves by the sound of running
water, they set out for the river, and by slipping and sliding
contrived to get down to its bank. One of the horses, missing
his footing, rolled down several hundred yards with his load,
but sustained no injury. The weather in the valley was less
rigorous than on the hills. The snow lay but ankle deep, and
there was a quiet rain now falling. After creeping along for
six miles, they encamped on the border of the river. Being
utterly destitute of provisions, they were again compelled to
kill one of their horses to appease their famishing hunger.

44 UNEXPECTED MEETING.

CHAPTER V.

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING NAVIGATION IN A SKIN CANOE STRANGE FEAR8

OF SUFFERING MEN HARDSHIPS OF MR. CROOKS AND HIS COMRADES

TIDINGS OF M'liELLAN A RETROGRADE MARCH A WILLOW RAFT EX
TREME SUFFERING OF SOME OF THE PARTY ILLNESS OF MR. CROOKS

IMPATIENCE OF SOME OF THE MSN NECESSITY OF LEAVING THE LAGGARDS

BEHIND.

T»E wanderers had now accomplished four hundred and
seventy-two miles of their dreary journey since leaving the
Caldron Linn, how much further they had yet to travel, and
what hardships to encounter, no one knew.

On the morning of the 6th of December, they left their dis
mal encampment, but had scarcely begun their march, when,
to their surprise, they beheld a party of white men coming up
along the opposite bank of the river. As they drew nearer,
they were recognised for Mr. Crooks and his companions.
When they came opposite, and could make themselves heard
across the murmuring of the river, their first cry was for food ;
in fact, they were almost starved. Mr. Hunt immediately re
turned to the camp, and had a kind of canoe made out of the skin
of the horse, killed on the preceding night. This was done
after the Indian fashion, by drawing up the edges of the skin
with thongs, and keeping them distended by sticks or thwarts
pieces. In this frail bark, Sardepie, one of the Canadians, car
ried over a portion of the flesh of the horse to the famishing
party on the opposite side of the river, and brought back with

DISHEARTENING IMPEDIMENTS. 45

him Mr. Crooks, and the Canadian, Le Clerc. The forlorn and
wasted looks, and starving condition of these two men, struck
dismay to the hearts of Mr. Hunt's followers. They had been
accustomed to each other's appearance, and to the gradual ope
ration of hunger and hardship upon their frames, but the change
in the looks of these men, since last they parted, was a type of
the famine and desolation of the land ; and they now began to
indulge the horrible presentiment that they would all starve
together, or be reduced to the direful alternative of casting
lots!

When Mr. Crooks had appeased his hunger, he gave Mr.
Hunt some account of his wayfaring. On the side of the
river, along which he had kept, he had met with but few In
dians, and those were too miserably poor to yield much assist
ance. For the first eighteen days, after leaving the Caldron
Linn, he and his men had been confined to half a meal in
twenty-four hours ; for three days following, they had subsisted
on a single beaver, a few wild cherries, and the soles of old
moccasins, and for the last six days, their only animal food had
been the carcass of a dog. They had been three days' jour
ney further down the river than Mr. Hunt, always keeping
as near to its banks as possible, and frequently climbing over
sharp and rocky ridges that projected into the stream. At
length they had arrived to where the mountains increased in
height, and came closer to the river, with perpendicular preci
pices, which rendered it impossible to keep along the stream
The river here rushed with incredible velocity through a defile
not more than thirty yards wide, where cascades and rapids
succeeded each other almost without intermission. Even had
the opposite banks, therefore, been such as to permit a contin
uance of their journey, it would have been madness to attempt
to pass the tumultuous current, either on rafts or otherwise,

46 INSURMOUNTABLE DIFFICULTIES.

Still bent, however, on pushing forward, they attempted to
climb the opposing mountains ; and struggled on through the
snow for half a day until, coming to where they could com
mand a prospect, they found that they were not half way to
the summit, and that mountain upon mountain lay piled beyond
them, in wintry desolation. Famished and emaciated as they
were, to continue forward would be to perish ; their only
chance seemed to be to regain the river, and retrace their steps
up its banks. It was in this forlorn and retrograde march that
they had met with Mr. Hunt and his party.

Mr. Crooks also gave information of some others of their
fellow adventurers. He had spoken several days previously
with Mr. Reed and Mr. M'Kenzie, who with their men were
on the opposite side of the river, where it was impossible to
get over to them. They informed him that Mr. M'Lellan had
struck across from the little river above the mountains, in the
hope of falling in with some of the tribe of Flatheads, who
inhabit the western skirts of the Rocky range. As the com
panions of Reed and M'Kenzie were picked men, and had
found provisions more abundant on their side of the river, they
were in better condition, and more fitted to contend with the
difficulties of the country, than those of Mr. Crooks, and
when he lost sight of them, were pushing onward, down the
course of the river.

Mr. Hunt took a night to revolve over his critical situation,
and to determine what was to be done. No time was to be
lost ; he had twenty men and more, in his own party, to pro
vide for, and Mr. Crooks and his men to relieve. To linger
would be to starve. The idea of retracing his steps was intol
erable, and, notwithstanding all the discouraging accounts of
the ruggedness of the mountains lower down the river, he
would have been disposed to attempt them, but the depth of

RETROGRADE MARCH. 47

the snow with which they were covered, deterred him ; having
already experienced the impossibility of forcing his way against
such an impediment.

The only alternative, therefore, appeared to be, to return and
seek the Indian bands scattered along the small rivers above
the mountains. Perhaps, from some of these he might procure
horses enough to support him until he could reach the Colum
bia ; for he still cherished the hope of arriving at that river in
the course of the winter, though he was apprehensive that few
of Mr. Crooks' party would be sufficiently strong to follow him.
Even in adopting this course, he had to make up his mind to
the certainty of several days of famine at the outset, for it
would take that time to reach the last Indian lodges from
which he had parted, and until they should arrive there, his
people would have nothing to subsist upon but haws and wild
berries, excepting one miserable horse, which was little better
than skin and bone.

After a night of sleepless cogitation, Mr. Hunt announced to
his men the dreary alternative he had adopted, and prepara
tions were made to take Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc across the
river, with the remainder of the meat, as the other party were
to keep up along the opposite bank. The skin canoe had
unfortunately been lost in the night, a raft was constructed,
therefore, after the manner of the natives, of bundles of wil
lows, but it could not be floated across the impetuous current.
The men were directed, in consequence, to keep on along
the river by themselves, while Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc
would proceed with Mr. Hunt. They all, then, took up their
retrograde march with drooping spirits.

In a little while, it was found that Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc
were so feeble as to walk with difficulty, so that Mr. Hunt was
obliged to retard his pace, that they might keep up with him.

48 SERIOUS DILEMMA.

His men grew impatient at the delay. They murmured that
they had a long and desolate region to traverse, before they
could arrive at the point where they might expect to find
horses ; that it was impossible for Crooks and Le Clerc, in
their feeble condition, to get over it ; that to remain with them
would only be to starve in their company. They importuned
Mr. Hunt, therefore, to leave these unfortunate men to their
fate, and think only of the safety of himself and his party.
Finding him not to be moved, either by entreaties or their
clamors, they began to proceed without him, singly and in
parties. Among those who thus went off was Pierre Dorion,
the interpreter. Pierre owned the only remaining horse ;
which was now a mere skeleton. Mr. Hunt had suggested,
in their present extremity, that it should be killed for food ; to
which the half-breed flatly refused his assent, and cudgelling
the miserable animal forward, pushed on sullenly, with the air
of a man doggedly determined to quarrel for his right. In this
way Mr. Hunt saw his men, one after another, break away,
until but five remained to bear him company.

On the following morning, another raft was made, on which
Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc again attempted to ferry themselves
across the river, but after repeated trials, had to give up in
despair. This caused additional delay : after which, they
continued to crawl forward at a snail's pace. Some of the
men who had remained with Mr. Hunt now became impatient
of these incumbrances, and urged him, clamorously, to push
forward, crying out that they should all starve. The night
which succeeded was intensely cold, so that one of the men
was severely frost-bitten. In the course of the night, Mr.
Crooks was taken ill, and in the morning was still more
incompetent to travel. Their situation was now desperate, for
their stock of provisions was reduced to three beaver skins.

MR. CROOKS AND LE CLERC LEFT. 49

Mr. Hunt, therefore, resolved to push on, overtake his people,
and insist upon having the horse of Pierre Dorion sacrificed
for the relief of all hands. Accordingly, he left two of his
men to help Crooks and Le Clerc on their way, giving them
two of the beaver skins for their support ; the remaining skin
he retained, as provision for himself and the three other men
who struck forward with him.

50 ADVANCE PARTY OVERTAKEN.

CHAPTER VI.

ME. HUNT OVERTAKES THE ADVANCED PARTY — PIERRE DORIOX, AND HIS
SKELETON HORSE A SlIOSHOXIE CAMP A JUSTIFIABLE OUTRAGE FEA8T-

INO ON HORSE FLESH MR. CROOKS BROUGHT TO THB CAMP UNDERTAKES

TO RELIEVE HIS MEN THE SKIN FERRY BOAT FRENZY OF PREV08T

HIS MELANCHOLY FATE ENFEEBLED STATE OF JOHN DAY MR. CROOKS

AGAIN LEFT BEHIND THE PARTY EMERGE FROM AMONG THE MOUNTAINS

INTERVIEW WITH SHOSHONIES A GUIDE PROCURED TO CONDUCT THE PARTY

ACROSS A MOUNTAIN FERRIAGE ACROSS SNAKE RIVER REUNION WITH

MR. CROOKS' MEN — FINAL DEPARTURE FROM THE RIVER.

ALL that day, Mr. Hunt and his three comrades travelled with
out eating. At night they made a tantalizing supper on their
beaver skin, and were nearly starved with hunger and cold.
The next day, December 10th, they overtook the advance
party, who were all as much famished as themselves, some of
them not having eaten since the morning of the seventh. Mr.
Hunt now proposed the sacrifice of Pierre Dorion's skeleton
horse. Here he again met with positive and vehement oppo
sition from the half-breed, who was too sullen and vindictive
a fellow to be easily dealt with. What was singular, the men,
though suffering such pinching hunger, interfered in favor of
the horse. They represented, that it was better to keep on as
long as possible without resorting to this last resource. Pos
sibly the Indians, of whom they were in quest, might have
shifted their encampment, in which case it would be time

A NECESSARY OUTRAGE. 61

enough to kill the horse to escape starvation. Mr. Hunt,
therefore, was prevailed upon to grant Pierre Dorion's horse a
reprieve.

Fortunately, they had not proceeded much further, when,
towards evening, they came in sight of a lodge of Shoshonies,
with a number of horses grazing around it. The sight was as
unexpected as it was joyous. Having seen no Indians in this
neighborhood as they passed down the river ; they must have
subsequently come out from among the mountains. Mr. Hunt,
who first descried them, checked the eagerness of his compan
ions, knowing the unwillingness of these Indians to part with
their horses, and their aptness to hurry them off and conceal
them, in case of alarm. This was no time to risk such a disap
pointment. Approaching, therefore, stealthily and silently, they
came upon the savages by surprise, who fled in terror. Five
of their horses were eagerly seized, and one was despatched
upon the spot. The carcass was immediately cut up, and a
part of it hastily cooked and ravenously devoured. A man
was now sent on horseback with a supply of the flesh to Mr.
Crooks and his companions. He reached them in the night :
they were so famished that the supply sent them seemed but
to aggravate their hunger, and they were almost tempted to
kill and eat the horse that had brought the messenger. Avail
ing themselves of the assistance of the animal, they reached
the camp early in the morning.

On arriving there, Mr. Crooks was shocked to find that,
while the people on this side of the river, were amply supplied
with provisions, none had been sent to his own forlorn and
famishing men on the opposite bank. He immediately caused
a skin canoe to be constructed, and called out to his men to fill
their camp kettles with water and hang them over the fire,
that no time might be lost in cooking the meat the moment it

52 STRANGE TERRORS.

should be received. The river was so narrow, though deep,
that every thing could be distinctly heard and seen across it.
The kettles were placed on the fire, and the water was boiling
by the time the canoe was completed. When all was ready,
however, no one would undertake to ferry the meat across.
A vague, and almost superstitious, terror had infected the
minds of Mr. Hunt's followers, enfeebled and rendered imagin
ative of horrors by the dismal scenes and sufferings through
which they had passed. They regarded the haggard crew,
hovering like spectres of famine on the opposite bank, with
indefinite feelings of awe and apprehension, as if something
desperate and dangerous was to be feared from them.

Mr. Crooks tried in vain to reason or shame them out of this
singular state of mind. He then attempted to navigate the
canoe himself, but found his strength incompetent to brave the
impetuous current. The good feelings of Ben Jones the Ken-
tuckian, at length overcame his fears, and he ventured over.
The supply he brought was received with trembling avidity.
A poor Canadian, however, named Jean Baptiste Prevost,
whom famine had rendered wild and desperate, ran frantically
about the bank, after Jones had returned, crying out to Mr.
Hunt to send the canoe for him, and take him from that hor
rible region of famine, declaring that otherwise he would never
march another step, but would lie down there and die.

The canoe was shortly sent over again, under the manage
ment of Joseph Delaunay, with further supplies. Prevost
immediately pressed forward to embark. Delaunay refused to
admit him, telling him that there was now a sufficient supply
of meat on his side of the river. He replied that it was
not cooked, and he should starve before it was ready; he
implored, therefore, to be taken where he could get something
to appease his hunger immediately. Finding the canoe put-

PATE OF PREVOST. 53

ting off without him, he forced himself aboard. As he drew
near the opposite shore, and beheld meat roasting before the
fires, he jumped up, shouted, clapped his hands, and danced
in a delirium of joy, until he upset the canoe. The poor
wretch was swept away by the current and drowned, and it
was with extreme difficulty that Delaunay reached the shore.

Mr. Hunt now sent all his men forward excepting two or
three. In the evening, he caused another horse to be killed,
and a canoe to be made out of the skin, in which he sent over
a further supply of meat to the opposite party. The canoe
brought back John Day, the Kentucky hunter, who came to
join his former employer and commander, Mr, Crooks. Poor
Day, once so active and vigorous, was now reduced to a con
dition even more feeble and emaciated than his companions.
Mr. Crooks had such a value for the man, on account of his
past services and faithful character, that he determined not to
quit him ; he exhorted Mr. Hunt, however, to proceed forward,
and join the party, as his presence was all important to the
conduct of the expedition. One of the Canadians, Jean Bap-
tiste Dubreuil, likewise remained with Mr, Crooks.

Mr. Hunt left two horses with them, and a part of the car
cass of the last that had been killed. This, he hoped, would
be sufficient to sustain them until they should reach the Indian
encampment.

One of the chief dangers attending the enfeebled condition
of Mr. Crooks and his companions, was their being overtaken
by the Indians whose horses had been seized : though Mr.
Hunt hoped that he had guarded against any resentment on
the part of -the savages, by leaving various articles in their
lodge, more than sufficient to compensate for the outrage he
had been compelled to commit.

Resuming his onward course, Mr. Hunt came up with his

5*

54 SHOSHONIES.

people in the evening. The next day, December 13th, he
beheld several Indians, with three horses, on the opposite side
of the river, and after a time came to the two lodges which he
had seen on going down. Here he endeavored in vain te
barter a rifle for a horse, but again succeeded in effecting the
purchase with an old tin kettle, aided by a few beads.

The two succeeding days were cold and stormy ; the snow
was augmenting, and there was a good deal of ice running in
the river. Their road, however, was becoming easier ; they
were getting out of the hills, and finally emerged into the open
country, after twenty days of fatigue, famine, and hardship of
every kind, in the ineffectual attempt to find a passage down
the river.

They now encamped on a little willowed stream, running
from the east, which they had crossed on the 26th of Novem
ber. Here they found a dozen lodges of Shoshonies, recently
arrived, who informed them that had they persevered along
the river, they would have found their difficulties augment until
they became absolutely insurmountable. This intelligence
added to the anxiety of Mr. Hunt for the fate of Mr. M'Kenzie
and his people, who had kept on.

Mr. Hunt now followed up the little river, and encamped at
some lodges of Shoshonies, from whom he procured a couple
of horses, a dog, a few dried fish, and some roots and dried
cherries. Two or three days were exhausted in obtaining
information about the route, and what time it would take to get
to the Sciatogas, a hospitable tribe, on the west side of the
mountains, represented as having many horses. The replies
were various, but concurred in saying that the distance was
great, and would occupy from seventeen to twenty-one nights.
Mr. Hunt then tried to procure a guide ; but though he sent to
various lodges up and down the river, offering articles of great

A MOUNTAIN GUIDE. 55

value in Indian estimation, no one would venture. The snow
they said was waist deep in the mountains ; and to all his
offers they shook their heads, gave a shiver, and replied, " we
shall freeze ! we shall freeze !" at the same time they urged
him to remain and pass the winter among them.

Mr. Hunt was in a dismal dilemma. To attempt the moun
tains without a guide, would be certain death to him and all
his people ; to remain there, after having already been so long
on the journey, and at such great expense, was worse to him
he said than " two deaths." He now changed his tone with
the Indians, charged them with deceiving him in respect to
the mountains, and talking with a " forked tongue," or, in other
words, with lying. He upbraided them with their want of
courage, and told them they were women, to shrink from the
perils of such a journey. At length one of them, piqued by
his taunts, or tempted by his offers, agreed to be his guide ;
for which he was to receive a gun, a pistol, three knives, two
horses, and a little of every article in possession of the party ;
a reward sufficient to make him one of the wealthiest of his
vagabond nation.

Once more then, on the 21st of December, they set out upon
their wayfaring, with newly excited spirits. Two other In
dians accompanied their guide, who led them immediately
back to Snake river, which they followed down for a short
distance, in search of some Indian rafts made of reeds, on
which they might cross. Finding none, Mr. Hunt caused a
horse to be killed, and a canoe to be made out of its skin.
Here, on the opposite bank, they saw the thirteen men of Mr.
Crooks' party, who had continued up along the river. They
told Mr. Hunt, across the stream, that they had not seen Mr.
Crooks, and the two men who had remained with him, since
the day that he had separated from them.

56 CROSSING OF THE RIVER.

The canoe proving too small, another horse was killed, and
the skin of it joined to that of the first. Night came on before
the little bark had made more than two voyages. Being badly
made, it was taken apart and put together again, by the light
of the fire. The night was cold ; the men were weary and
disheartened with such varied and incessant toil and hardship.
They crouched, dull and drooping, around their fires ; many
of them began to express a wish to remain where they were
for the winter. The very necessity of crossing the river dis
mayed some of them in their present enfeebled and dejected
state. It was rapid and turbulent, and filled with floating ice,
and they remembered that two of their comrades had already
perished in its waters. Others looked forward with mis
givings to the long and dismal journey through lonesome
regions that awaited them, when they should have passed this
dreary flood.

At an early hour of the morning, December 23d, they began
to cross the river. Much ice had formed during the night,
and they were obliged to break it for some distance on each
shore. At length they all got over in safety to the west side ;
and their spirits rose on having achieved this perilous passage.
Here they were rejoined by the people of Mr. Crooks, who
had with them a horse and a dog, which they had recently
procured. The poor fellows were in the most squalid and
emaciated state. Three of them were so completely prostrated
in strength and spirits, that they expressed a wish to remain
among the Snakes. Mr. Hunt, therefore, gave them the canoe,
that they might cross the river, and a few articles, with which
to procure necessaries, until they should meet with Mr. Crooks.
There was another man, named Michael Carriere, who was
almost equally reduced, but he determined to proceed with his
comrades, who were now incorporated with the party of Mr.

THE LAST NIGHT ON SNAKE RIVER. 57

Hunt. After the day's exertions they encamped together on
the banks of the river. This was the last night they were to
spend upon its borders. More than eight hundred miles of
hard travelling, and many weary days, had it cost them ; and
the sufferings connected with it, rendered, it hateful in their
remembrance, so that the Canadian voyageurs always spoke
of it as " La maudite riviere enragee" — the accursed mad
river : thus coupling a malediction with its name.

58 DEPARTURE FROM THE RIVER.

CHAPTER VII.

DEPARTURE FROM SNAKE RIVER — MOUNTAINS TO THE NORTH — WAYWORN

TRAVELLERS AN INCREASE OF THE DoRION FAMILY A CAMP OF SflO-

BHONIE8 A NEW YEAR FESTIVAL AMONG THE SNAKES A WINTRY MARCH

THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS A SUNNY PROSPECT, AND MILDER CLIMATE

INDIAN HORSE TRACKS — GRASSY VALLEYS — A CAMP OF SCIATOGAS — JOY OF

THE TRAVELLERS DANGERS OF ABUNDANCE HABITS OF THE SCIATOGAS

— FATE OF CARRIERE — THE UMATALLA — ARRIVAL AT THE BANKS OF
THE COLUMBIA — TIDINGS OF THE SCATTERED MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDI
TION SCENERY ON THE COLUMBIA TIDINGS OF ASTORIA ARRIVAL AT

THE FALLS.

ON the 24th of December, all things being arranged, Mr. Hunt
turned his back upon the disastrous banks of Snake river, and
struck his course westward for the mountains. His party,
being augmented by the late followers of Mr. Crooks, amounted
now to thirty-two white men, three Indians, and the squaw
and two children of Pierre Dorion. Five jaded, half-starved
horses were laden with their luggage, and, in case of need,
were to furnish them with provisions. They travelled pain
fully about fourteen miles a day, over plains and among hills,
rendered dreary by occasional falls of snow and rain. Their
only sustenance was a scanty meal of horse flesh once in four
and twenty hours.

On the third day the poor Canadian, Carriere, one of the
famished party of Mr. Crooks, gave up in despair, and lying
down upon the ground declared he could go no further. Efforts

INCREASE OF THE DORION FAMILY. 59

were made to cheer him up, but it was found that the poor
fellow was absolutely exhausted and could not keep on his
legs. He was mounted, therefore, upon one of the horses,
though the forlorn animal was in little better plight than
himself.

On the 28th, they came upon a small stream winding to the
north, through a fine level valley; the mountains receding on
each side. Here their Indian friends pointed out a chain of
woody mountains to the left, running north and south, and
covered with snow ; over which they would have to pass.
They kept along the valley for twenty-one miles on the 29th,
suffering much from a continued fall of snow and rain, and
being twice obliged to ford the icy stream. Early in the fol
lowing morning the squaw of Pierre Dorioh, who had hitherta
kept on without murmuring or flinching, was suddenly taken
in labour, and enriched her husband with another child. As
the fortitude and good conduct of the poor woman had gained
for her the good will of the party, her situation caused con
cern and perplexity. Pierre, however, treated the matter as
an occurrence that could soon be arranged and need cause
no delay. He remained by his wife in the camp, with his
other children and his horse, and promised soon to rejoin the
main body, who proceeded on their march.

Finding that the little river entered the mountains, they
abandoned it and turned off for a few miles among hills. Here
another Canadian, named La Bonte gave out, and had to be
helped on horseback. As the horse was too weak to bear
both him and his pack, Mr. Hunt took the latter upon his
own shoulders. Thus, with difficulties augmenting at every
step, they urged their toilsome way among the hills half
famished, and faint at heart, when they came to where a fair
valley spread out before them of great extent, and several

60 A GENIAL LANDSCAPE.

leagues in width, with a beautiful stream meandering through
it. A genial climate seemed to prevail here, for though the
snow lay upon all the mountains within sight, there was none
to be seen in the valley. The travellers gazed with delight
upon this serene sunny landscape, but their joy was complete
on beholding six lodges of Shoshonies pitched upon the bor
ders of the stream, with a number of horses and dogs about
them. They all pressed forward with eagerness and soon
reached the camp. Here their first attention was to obtain
provisions. A rifle, an old musket, a tomahawk, a tin kettle,
and a small quantity of ammunition soon procured them four
horses, three dogs, and some roots. Part of the live stock
was immediately killed, cooked with all expedition, and as
promptly devoured. A hearty meal restored every one to good
spirits. In the course of the following morning the Dorion
family, made its re-appearance. Pierre came trudging in the
advance, followed by his valued, though skeleton steed, on
which was mounted his squaw with the new born infant in
her arms, and her boy of two years old, wrapped in a blanket
and slung at her side. The mother looked as unconcerned
as if nothing had happened to her ; so easy is nature in her
operations in the wilderness, when free from the enfeebling
refinements of luxury, and the tamperings and appliances
of art.

The next morning ushered in the new year, (1812). Mr.
Hunt was about to resume his march, when his men requested
permission to celebrate the day. This was particularly urged
by the Canadian voyageurs, with whom new year's day is a
favorite festival ; and who never willingly give up a holiday,
under any circumstances. There was no resisting such an
application ; so the day was passed in repose and revelry ;
the poor Canadians contrived to sing and dance in defiance

SNOWY MOUNTAINS. 61

of all their hardships ; and there was a sumptuous new year's
banquet of dog's meat and horse flesh.

After two days of welcome rest, the travellers addressed
themselves once more to their painful journey. The Indians
of the lodges pointed out a distant gap through which they
must pass in traversing the ridge of mountains. They assured
them that they would be but little incommoded by snow, and
in three days would arrive among the Sciatogas. Mr. Hunt,
however, had been so frequently deceived by Indian accounts
of routes and distances, that he gave but little faith to this
information.

The travellers continued their course due west for five days,
crossing the valley and entering the mountains. Here the
travelling became excessively toilsome, across rough stony
ridges, and amidst fallen trees. They were often knee deep in
snow, and sometimes in the hollows between the ridges sank
up to their waists. The weather was extremely cold ; the sky
covered with clouds, so that for days they had not a glimpse
of the sun. In traversing the highest ridge they had a wide
but chilling prospect over a wilderness of snowy mountains.

On the 6th of January, however, they had crossed the
dividing summit of the chain, and were evidently under the
influence of a milder climate. The snow began to decrease ;
the sun once more emerged from the thick canopy of clouds,
and shone cheeringly upon them, and they caught a sight of
what appeared to be a plain, stretching out in the west. They
hailed it as the poor Israelites hailed the first glimpse of the
promised land, for they flattered themselves that this might be
the great plain of the Columbia, and that their painful pilgrim
age might be drawing to a close.

It was now five days since they had left the lodges of the
Shoshonies, during which they had come about sixty miles,

VOL. II. 6

62 A SCIATOGA CAMP.

and their guide assured them that in the course of the next
day they would see the Sciatogas.

On the following morning, therefore, they pushed forward
with eagerness, and soon fell upon a small stream which led
them through a deep, narrow defile, between stupendous ridges.
Here among the rocks and precipices they saw gangs of that
mountain-loving animal, the black-tailed deer, and came to
where great tracks of horses were to be seen in all directions,
made by the Indian hunters.

The snow had entirely disappeared, and the hopes of soon
coming upon some Indian encampment induced Mr. Hunt to
press on. Many of the men, however, were so enfeebled that
they could not keep up with the main body, but lagged, at
intervals, behind ; and some of them did not arrive at the night
encampment. In the course of this day's march the recently
born child of Pierre Dorion died.

The march was resumed early the next morning, without
waiting for the stragglers. The stream which they had fol
lowed throughout the preceding day was now swollen by the
influx of another river ; the declivities of the hills were green
and the valleys were clothed with grass. At length the jovial
cry was given of " an Indian camp !" It was yet in the dis
tance, in the bosom of the green valley, but they could perceive
that it consisted of numerous lodges, and that hundreds of
horses were grazing the grassy meadows around it. The
prospect of abundance of horse flesh diffused universal joy,
for by this time the whole stock of travelling provisions was
reduced to the skeleton steed of Pierre Dorion, and another
wretched animal, equally emaciated, that had been repeatedly
reprieved during the journey.

A forced march soon brought the weary and hungry travel
lers to the camp. It proved to be a strong party of Sciatogas

COMFORTABLE QUARTERS. 63

and Tus-che-pas. There were thirty-four lodges, comfortably
constructed of mats ; the Indians, too, were better clothed
than any of the wandering bands they had hitherto met on
this side of the Rocky mountains. Indeed they were as well
clad as the generality of the wild hunter tribes. Each had
a good buffalo or deer skin robe ; and a deer skin hunting
shirt and leggins. Upwards of two thousand horses were
ranging the pastures around their encampment ; but what de
lighted Mr. Hunt was, on entering the lodges, to behold brass
kettles, axes, copper tea kettles, and various other articles
of civilized manufacture, which showed that these Indians had
an indirect communication with the people of the sea-coast
who traded with the whites. He made eager enquiries of the
Sciatogas, and gathered from them that the great river (the
Columbia,) was but two day's march distant, and that several
white people had recently descended it ; who he hoped might
prove to be M'Lellan, M'Kenzie and their companions.

It was with the utmost joy and the most profound gratitude
to heaven, that Mr. Hunt found himself and his band of weary
and famishing wanderers, thus safely extricated from the most
perilous part of their long journey, and within the prospect
of a termination of their toils. All the stragglers who had
lagged behind arrived, one after another, excepting the poor
Canadian voyageur, Carriere. He had been seen late in the
preceding afternoon, riding behind a Snake Indian, near some
lodges of that nation, a few miles distant from the last night's
encampment ; and it was expected that he would soon make
his appearance.

The first object of Mr. Hunt was to obtain provisions for
his men. A little venison of an indifferent quality and some
roots were all that could be procured that evening ; but the
next day he succeeded in purchasing a mare and colt, which

64 PROVIDENT INDIANS.

were immediately killed, and the cravings of the half-starved
people in some degree appeased.

For several days they remained in the neighborhood of these
Indians, reposing after all their hardships, and feasting upon
horse flesh and roots, obtained in subsequent traffic. Many
of the people ate to such excess as to render themselves sick,
others were lame from their past journey ; but all gradually
recruited in the repose and abundance of the valley. Horses
were obtained here much more readily, and at a cheaper rate,
than among the Snakes. A blanket, a knife, or a half pound
of blue beads would purchase a steed, and at this rate many
of the men bought horses for their individual use.

This tribe of Indians, who are represented as a proud
spirited race, and uncommonly cleanly, never eat horses nor
dogs, nor would they permit the raw flesh of either to be
brought into their huts. They had a small quantity of venison
in each lodge, but set so high a price upon it that the white
men, in their impoverished state, could not afford to purchase it.
They hunted the deer on horseback ; " ringing," or surround
ing them, and running them down in a circle. They were
admirable horsemen, and their weapons were bows and ar
rows, which they managed with great dexterity. They were
altogether primitive in their habits, and seemed to cling to the
usages of savage life, even when possessed of the aids of
civilization. They had axes among them, yet they generally
made use of a stone mallet wrought into the shape of a bottle,
and wedges of elk horn, in splitting their wood. Though
they might have two or three brass kettles hanging in their
lodges, yet they would frequently use vessels made of willow,
for carrying water, and would even boil their meat in them,
by means of hot stones. Their women wore caps of willow
neatly worked and figured.

RIVER UMATALLA. 65

As Carriere, the Canadian straggler did not make his ap
pearance for two or three days after the encampment in the
valley, two men were sent out on horseback in search of him.
They returned, however, without success. The lodges of the
Snake Indians near which he had been seen, were removed,
and they could find no trace of him. Several days more
elapsed, yet nothing was seen or heard of him, or of the
Snake horseman, behind whom he had been last observed.
It was feared, therefore, that he had either perished through
hunger and fatigue ; had been murdered by the Indians ; or,
being left to himself, had mistaken some hunting tracks for
the trail of the party, and been led astray and lost.

The river on the banks of which they were encamped,
emptied into the Columbia, was called by the natives the
Eu-o-tal-la, or Umatalla, and abounded with beaver. In the
course of their sojourn in the valley which it watered, they
twice shifted their camp, proceeding about thirty miles down
its course, which was to the west. A heavy fall of rain
caused the river to overflow its banks, dislodged them from
their encampment, and drowned three of their horses, which
were tethered in the low ground.

Further conversation with the Indians satisfied them that
they were in the neighborhood of the Columbia. The number
of the white men who they said had passed down the river,
agreed with that of M'Lellan, M'Kenzie and their companions,
and increased the hope of Mr. Hunt that they might have
passed through the wilderness with safety.

These Indians had a vague story that white men were
coming to trade among them ; and they often spoke of two
great men named Ke-Koosh and Jacquean, who gave them
tobacco, and smoked with them. Jacquean, they said, had a

house somewhere upon the great river. Some of the Cana-

6*

66 COLUMBIA RIVER.

dians supposed they were speaking of one Jacquean Finlay
a clerk of the North-west Company, and inferred that the
house must be some trading post on one of the tributary
streams of the Columbia. The Indians were overjoyed when
they found this band of white men intended to return and
trade with them. They promised to use all diligence in
collecting quantities of beaver skins, and no doubt proceeded
to make deadly war upon that sagacious, but ill-fated animal,
who, in general, lived in peaceful insignificance among his
Indian neighbors, before the intrusion of the white trader.
On the 20th of January, Mr. Hunt took leave of these friendly
Indians, and of the river on which they were encamped, and
continued westward.

At length, on the following day, the wayworn travellers
lifted up their eyes and beheld before them the long-sought
waters of the Columbia. The sight was hailed with as much
transport as if they had already reached the end of their
pilgrimage ; nor can'we wonder at their joy. Two hundred
and forty miles had they marched, through wintry wastes and
rugged mountains, since leaving Snake river ; and six months
of perilous wayfaring had they experienced since their de
parture from the Arickara village on the Missouri. Their
whole route by land and water from that point, had been,
according to their computation, seventeen hundred and fifty-
one miles, in the course of which they had endured all kinds
of hardships. In fact, the necessity of winding the dangerous
country of the Blackfeet, had obliged them to make a bend
to the south, and to traverse a great additional extent of un
known wilderness.

The place where they struck the Columbia was some dis
tance below the junction of its two great branches, Lewis,
and Clarke rivers, and not far from the influx of the Wallah-

CROSS THE COLUMBIA. 67

Wallah. It was a beautiful stream, three quarters of a mile
wide, totally free from trees ; bordered in some places with
steep rocks, in others with pebbled shores.

On the banks of the Columbia they found a miserable horde
of Indians, called Akai-chies, with no clothing but a scanty
mantle of the skins of animals, and sometimes a pair of sleeves
of wolf's skin. Their lodges were shaped like a tent, and
very light and warm, being covered with mats of rushes ;
beside which they had excavations on the ground, lined with
mats, and occupied by the women, who were even more slightly
clad than the men. These people subsisted chiefly by fishing ;
having canoes of a rude construction, being merely the trunks
of pine trees split and hollowed out by fire. Their lodges
were well stored with dried salmon, and they had great quan
tities of fresh salmon trout, of an excellent flavor, taken at
the mouth of the Umatalla ; of which the travellers obtained
a most acceptable supply.

Finding that the road was on the north side of the river,
Mr. Hunt crossed, and continued five or six days travelling
rather slowly down along its banks, being much delayed by
the straying of the horses, and the attempts made by the
Indians to steal them. They frequently passed lodges, where
they obtained fish and dogs. At one place the natives had
just returned from hunting, and had brought back a large
quantity of elk and deer meat, but asked so high a price for it
as to be beyond the funds of the travellers, so they had to con
tent themselves with dog flesh. They had by this time, how
ever, come to consider it very choice food, superior to horse
flesh, and the minutes of the expedition speak rather exultingly
now and then, of their having made a " famous repast," where
this viand happened to be unusually plenty.

68 TRAVEL ALONG THE COLUMBIA.

They again learnt tidings of some of the scattered members
of the expedition, supposed to be M'Kenzie, M'Lellan and
their men, who had preceded them down the river, and had
overturned one of their canoes, by which they lost many
articles. All these floating pieces of intelligence of their
fellow adventurers, who had separated from them in the heart
of the wilderness, they received with eager interest.

The weather continued to be temperate, marking the supe
rior softness of the climate on this side of the mountains.
For a great part of the time, the days were delightfully mild
and clear, like the serene days of October, on the Atlantic
borders. ' The country in general, in the neighborhood of the
river, was a continual plain, low, near the water, but rising
gradually ; destitute of trees, and almost without shrubs or
plants of any kind, excepting a few willow bushes. After
travelling about sixty miles, they came to where the country
became very hilly and the river made its way between rocky
banks, and down numerous rapids. The Indians in this
vicinity were better clad and altogether in more prosperous
condition than those above, and, as Mr. Hunt thought, showed
their consciousness of ease by something like sauciness of
manner. Thus prosperity is apt to produce arrogance in sav
age as well as in civilized life. In both conditions, man is
an animal that will not bear pampering.

From these people Mr. Hunt for the first time received
vague, but deeply interesting intelligence of that part of the
enterprise which had proceeded by sea to the mouth of the
Columbia. The Indians spoke of a number of white men
who had built a large house at the mouth of the great river,
and surrounded it with palisades. None of them had been
down to Astoria themselves ; but rumors spread widely and

THE FALLS OF THE COLUMBIA. 69

rapidly from mouth to mouth among the Indian tribes, and are
carried to the heart of the interior, by hunting parties, and
migratory hordes.

The establishment of a trading emporium at such a point,
also, was calculated to cause a sensation to the most remote
parts of the vast wilderness beyond the mountains. It, in a
manner, struck the pulse of the great vital rivei, and vibrated
up all its tributary streams.

It is surprising to notice how well this remote tribe of
savages had learnt through intermediate gossips, the private
feelings of the colonists at Astoria ; it shows that Indians are
not the incurious and indifferent observers that they have been
represented. They told Mr. Hunt that the white people at
the large house had been looking anxiously for many of their
friends, whom they had expected to descend the great river ;
and had been in much affliction, fearing that they were lost.
Now, however, the arrival of him and his party would wipe
away all their tears and they would dance and sing for joy.

On the 31st of January, Mr. Hunt arrived at the falls of the
Columbia, and encamped at the village of Wish-ram, situated
at the head of that dangerous pass of the river called " the
long narrows."

70 INDIAN VILLAGE.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE VILLAGE OF WISH-RAM — ROGUERY OF THE INHABITANTS — THEIR HABIT
ATIONS — TIDINGS OF ASTORIA — OF THE TONQUIN MASSACRE — THIEVES

ABOUT TRE CAMP A BAND OF BRAGGARTS EMBARCATION ARRIVAL AT

ASTORIA — A JOYFUL RECEPTION — OLD COMRADES — ADVENTURES OF REED,
M'LELLAN, AND M'KENZIE, AMONG THE SNAKE RIVER MOUNTAINS — RE
JOICING AT ASTORIA.

OF the village of Wish-ram, the aborigines' fishing mart of the
Columbia, we have given some account in an early chapter of
this work. The inhabitants held a traffic in the productions of
the fisheries of the falls, and their village was the trading
resort of the tribes from the coast and from the mountains.
Mr. Hunt found the inhabitants shrewder and more intelligent
than any Indians he had met with. Trade had sharpened
their wits, though it had not improved their honesty ; for they
were a community of arrant rogues and freebooters. Their
habitations comported with their circumstances, and were
superior to any the travellers had yet seen west of the Rocky
mountains. In general, the dwellings of the savages on the
Pacific side of that great barrier, were mere tents and cabins
of mats, or skins, or straw, the country being destitute of tim
ber. In Wish-ram, on the contrary, the houses were built of
wood, with long sloping roofs. The floor was sunk about six
feet below the surface of the ground, with a low door at the
gabel end, extremely narrow and partly sunk. Through this

DEPRESSING INTELLIGENCE. 71

it was necessary to crawl, and then to descend a short ladder.
This inconvenient entrance was probably for the purpose of
defence ; there were loop holes also under the eaves, appa
rently for the discharge of arrows. The houses were larger,
generally containing two or three families. Immediately
within the door were sleeping places, ranged along the walls,
like berths in a ship ; and furnished with pallets of matting.
These extended along one half of the building ; the remaining
half was appropriated to the storing of dried fish.

The trading operations of the inhabitants of Wish-ram had
given them a wider scope of information, and rendered their
village a kind of head quarters of intelligence. Mr. Hunt was
able, therefore, to collect more distinct tidings concerning the
settlement of Astoria and its affairs. One of the inhabitants
had been at the trading post established by David Stuart on
the Oakinagan, and had picked up a few words of English
there. From him, Mr. Hunt gleaned various particulars about
that establishment, as well as about the general concerns of
the enterprise. Others repeated the name of Mr. M'Kay, the
partner who perished in the massacre on board of the Tonquin,
and gave some account of that melancholy affair. They said,
Mr. M'Kay was a chief among the white men, and had built a
great house at the mouth of the river, but had left it, and sailed
away in a large ship to the northward, where he had been
attacked by bad Indians in canoes. Mr. Hunt was startled by
this intelligence, and made further inquiries. They informed
him that the Indians had lashed their canoes to the ship, and
fought until they killed him and all his people. This is an
other instance of the clearness with which intelligence is
transmitted from mouth to mouth among the Indian tribes.
These tidings, though but partially credited by Mr. Hunt, filled
his mind with anxious forebodings. He now endeavored to

72 INDIAN STRATAGEM.

procure canoes, in which to descend the Columbia, but none
suitable for the purpose were to be obtained above the nar
rows ; he continued on, therefore, the distance of twelve miles,
and encamped on the bank of the river. The camp was soon
surrounded by loitering savages, who went prowling about,
seeking what they might pilfer. Being baffled by the vigilance
of the guard, they endeavored to compass their ends by other
means. Towards evening, a number of warriors entered the
camp in ruffling style ; painted and dressed out as if for battle,
and armed with lances, bows and arrows, and scalping knives.
They informed Mr. Hunt that a party of thirty or forty braves
were coming up from a village below to attack the camp and
carry off the horses, but that they were determined to stay
with him, and defend him. Mr. Hunt received them with
great coldness, and, when they had finished their story, gave
them a pipe to smoke. He then called up all hands, stationed
sentinels in different quarters, but told them to keep as vigilant
an eye within the camp as without.

The warriors were evidently baffled by these precautions,
and, having smoked their pipe, and vapored off their valor,
took their departure. The farce, however, did not end here.
After a little while, the warriors returned, ushering in another
savage, still more heroically arrayed. This they announced
as the chief of the belligerent village, but as a great pacificator.
His people had been furiously bent upon the attack, and would
have doubtless carried it into effect, but this gallant chief had
stood forth as the friend of white men, and had dispersed the
throng by his own authority and prowess. Having vaunted
this signal piece of service, there was a significant pause ; all
evidently expecting some adequate reward. Mr. Hunt again
produced the pipe, smoked with the chieftain and his worthy
compeers ; but made no further demonstrations of gratitude.

DESCEND THE COLUMBIA. 73

They remained about the camp all night, but at daylight
returned, baffled and crest-fallen, to their homes, with nothing
but smoke for their pains.

Mr. Hunt now endeavored to procure canoes, of which he
saw several about the neighborhood, extremely well made,
with elevated stems and sterns, some of them capable of car
rying three thousand pounds weight. He found it extremely
difficult, however, to deal with these slippery people, who
seemed much more inclined to pilfer. Notwithstanding a strict
guard maintained round the camp, various implements were
stolen, and several horses carried off. Among the latter, we
have to include the long cherished steed of Pierre Dorion.
From some wilful caprice, that worthy pitched his tent at some
distance from the main body, and tethered his invaluable steed
beside it, from whence it was abstracted in the night, to the
infinite chagrin and mortification of the hybrid interpreter.

Having, after several days' negociation, procured the requi
site number of canoes, Mr. Hunt would gladly have left this
thievish neighborhood, but was detained until the 5th of Feb
ruary, by violent head winds, accompanied by snow and rain.
Even after he was enabled to get under way, he had still
to struggle against contrary winds and tempestuous weather.
The current of the river, however, was in his favor ; having
made a portage at the grand rapid, the canoes met with no
further obstruction, and, on the afternoon of the 15th of Feb
ruary, swept round an intervening cape, and came in sight of
the infant settlement of Astoria. After eleven months wan
dering in the wilderness, a great part of the time over trackless
wastes, where the sight of a savage wigwam was a rarity, we
may imagine the delight of the poor weatherbeaten travellers,
at beholding the embryo establishment, with its magazines,

habitations, and picketed bulwarks, seated on a high point of

7

74 ARRIVE AT ASTORIA.

land, dominating a beautiful little bay, in which was a trim-
built shallop riding quietly at anchor. A shout of joy burst
from each canoe at the long wished for sight. They urged
their canoes across the bay, and pulled with eagerness for
shore, where all hands poured down from the settlement to
receive and welcome them. Among the first to greet them
on their landing, were some of their old comrades and fellow-
sufferers, who, under the conduct of Reed, M'Lellan, and
M'Kenzie, had parted from them at the Caldron Linn. These
had reached Astoria nearly a month previously, and, judging
from their own narrow escape from starvation, had given up
Mr. Hunt and his followers as Jost. Their greeting was the
more warm and cordial. As to the Canadian voyageurs? their
mutual felicitations, as usual, were loud and vociferous, and it
was almost ludicrous to behold these ancient " comrades" and
" confreres," hugging and kissing each other on the river
bank.

When the first greetings were over, the different bands
interchanged accounts of their several wanderings, after sepa
rating at Snake river ; we shall briefly notice a few of the
leading particulars. It will be recollected by the reader, that
a small exploring detachment had proceeded down the river,
under the conduct of Mr. John Reed, a clerk of the company :
that another had set off under M'Lellan, and a third in a dif
ferent direction, under M'Kenzie. After wandering for several
days without meeting with Indians, or obtaining any supplies,
they came together fortuitously among the Snake river moun
tains, some distance below that disastrous pass or strait, which
had received the appellation of the Devil's Scuttle Hole.

When thus united, their party consisted of M'Kenzie, M'Lel
lan, Reed, and eight men, chiefly Canadians. Being all in
the same predicament, without horses, provisions, or informa-

ADVENTURES. 75

tion of any kind, they all agreed that it would be worse than
useless to return to Mr. Hunt and encumber him with so many
starving men, and that their only course was to extricate them
selves as soon as possible from this land of famine and misery,
and make the best of their way for the Columbia. They ac
cordingly continued to follow the downward course of Snake
river; clambering rocks and mountains, and defying all the
difficulties and dangers of that rugged defile, which subse
quently, when the snows had fallen, was found impassable by
Messrs. Hunt and Crooks.

Though constantly near to the borders of the river, and for
a great part of the time within sight of its current, one of
their greatest sufferings was thirst. The river had worn its
way in a deep channel through rocky mountains, destitute of
brooks or springs. Its banks were so high and precipitous,
that there was rarely any place where the travellers could get
down to drink of its waters. Frequently they suffered for
miles the torments of Tantalus ; water continually within sight,
yet fevered with the most parching thirst. Here and there
they met with rain water collected in the hollows of the rocks,
but more than once they were reduced to the utmost extremity ;
and some of the men had recourse to the last expedient to
avoid perishing.

Their sufferings from hunger were equally severe. They
could meet with no game, and subsisted for a time on strips of
beaver skin, broiled on the coals. These were doled out in
scanty allowances, barely sufficient to keep up existence, and
at length failed them altogether. Still they crept feebly on,
scarce dragging one limb after another, until a severe snow
storm brought them to a pause. To struggle against it, in
their exhausted condition, was impossible, so cowering under
an impending rock at the foot of a steep mountain, they

76 SEASONABLE SUPPLY.

prepared themselves for that wretched fate which seemed
inevitable.

At this critical juncture, when famine stared them in the
face, M'Lellan casting up his eyes, beheld an ahsahta, or big
horn, sheltering itself under a shelving rock on the side of the
hill above them. Being in more active plight than any of his
comrades, and an excellent marksman, he set off to get within
shot of the animal. His companions watched his movements
with breathless anxiety, for their lives depended upon his
success. He made a cautious circuit ; scrambled up the hill
with the utmost silence, and at length arrived, unperceived,
within a proper distance. Here levelling his rifle he took so
sure an aim, that the bighorn fell dead on the spot ; a fortu
nate circumstance, for, to pursue it, if merely wounded, would
have been impossible in his emaciated state. The declivity
of the hill e,nabled him to roll the carcass down to his com
panions, who were too feeble to climb the rocks. They fell
to work to cut it up ; yet exerted a remarkable self-denial for
men in their starving condition, for they contented themselves
for the present with a soup made from the bones, reserving the
flesh for future repasts. This providential relief gave them
strength to pursue their journey, but they were frequently
reduced to almost equal straits, and it was only the smallness
of their party, requiring a small supply of provisions, that
enabled them to get through this desolate region with their
lives.

At length, after twenty-one days of toil and suffering, they
got through these mountains, and arrived at a tributary stream
of that branch of the Columbia called Lewis river, of which
Snake river forms the southern fork. In this neighborhood
they met with wild horses, the first they had seen west of the
Rocky mountains. From hence they made their way to Lewis

FESTIVAL AT ASTORIA. . 77

river, where they fell in with a friendly tribe of Indians, who
freely administered to their necessities. On this river they
procured two canoes, in which they dropped down the stream
to its confluence with the Columbia, and then down that river
to Astoria, where they arrived haggard and emaciated, and
perfectly in rags.

Thus, all the leading persons of Mr. Hunt's expedition were
once more gathered together, excepting Mr. Crooks, of whose
safety they entertained but little hope, considering the feeble
condition in which they had been compelled to leave him in
the heart of the wilderness.

A day was now given up to jubilee, to celebrate the arrival
of Mr. Hunt and his companions, and the joyful meeting of the
various scattered bands of adventurers at Astoria. The colors
were hoisted; the guns, great and small, were 'fired; there
was a feast of fish, of beaver, and venison, which relished
well with men who had so long been glad to revel on horse
flesh and dogs' meat ; a genial allowance of grog was issued,
to increase the general animation, and the festivities wound
up, as usual, with a grand dance at night, by the Canadian
voyageurs.*

* The distance from St. Louis to Astoria, by the route travelled by Hunt
and M'Kenzie, was upwards of thirty-five hundred miles, though in a direct
line, it does not exceed eighteen hundred.

78 WINTER FARE AT ASTORIA.

CHAPTER IX.

SCANTY PARK DURING THE WINTER — A POOR HUNTING GROUND— THE RETURN

OF THE FISHING SEASON THE UTHLECAN OR SMELT ITS QUALITIES VAST

SHOALS OP IT STURGEON INDIAN MODES OF TAKING IT THE SALMON

DIFFERENT SPECIES NATURE OP THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE COAST FOR
ESTS AND FOREST TREES A REMARKABLE FLOWERfNG VINE ANIMALS

BIRDS REPTILES CLIMATE WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS MILDNESS OP THE

TEMPERATURE SOIL OF THE COAST AND THE INTERIOR.

THE winter had passed away tranquilly at Astoria. The ap
prehensions of hostility from the natives had subsided ; indeed,
as the season advanced, the Indians for the most part had
disappeared from the neighborhood, and abandoned the sea
coast, so that, for want of their aid, the colonists had at times
suffered considerably for want of provisions. The hunters
belonging to the establishment made frequent and wide excur
sions, but with very moderate success. There were some deer
and a few bears to be found in the vicinity, and elk in great
numbers ; the country, however, was so rough, and the woods
so close and entangled, that it was almost impossible to beat
up the game. The prevalent rains of winter, also, rendered
it difficult for the hunter to keep his arms in order. The
quantity of game, therefore, brought in by the hunters was
extremely scanty, and it was frequently necessary to put all
hands on very moderate allowance. Towards spring, how
ever, the fishing season commenced, — the season of plenty on

THE UTHLECAN. 79

the Columbia. About the beginning of February, a small kind
of fish, about six inches long, called by the natives the uthle-
can, and resembling the smelt, made its appearance at the
mouth of the river. It is said to be of delicious flavor, and so
fat as to burn like a candle, for which it is often used by the
natives. It enters the river in immense shoals, like solid
columns, often extending to the depth of five or more feet, and
is scooped up by the natives with small nets at the end of
poles. In this way they will soon fill a canoe, or form a great
heap upon the river banks. These fish constitute a principal
article of their food ; the women drying them and stringing
them on cords.

As the uthlecan is only found in the lower part of the river,
the arrival of it soon brought back the natives to the coast ; who
again resorted to the factory to trade, and from that time fur
nished plentiful supplies of fish.

The sturgeon makes its appearance in the river shortly after
the uthlecan, and is taken in different ways, by the natives :
sometimes they spear it ; but oftener they use the hook and
line, and the net. Occasionally, they sink a cord in the river
by a heavy weight, with a buoy at the upper end, to keep it
floating. To this cord several hooks are attached by short
lines, a few feet distant from each other, and baited with small
fish. This apparatus is often set towards night, and by the
next morning several sturgeon will be found hooked by it ; for
though a large and strong fish, it makes but little resistance
when ensnared.

The salmon, which are the prime fish of the Columbia, and
as important to the piscatory tribes as are the buffaloes to the
hunters of the prairies, do not enter the river until towards the
latter part of May, from which time, until the middle of August,
they abound, and are taken in vast quantities, either with the

80 FOREST TREES — A REMARKABLE VINE.

spear or seine, and mostly in shallow water. An inferior
species succeeds, and continues from August to December.
It is remarkable for having u double row of teeth, half an inch
long and extremely sharp, from whence it has received the
name of the dog-toothed salmon. It is generally killed with
the spear, in small rivulets, and smoked for winter provision.
We have noticed in a former chapter the mode in which the
salmon are taken and cured at the falls of the Columbia ; and
put up in parcels for exportation. From these different fish
eries of the river tribes, the establishment at Astoria had to
derive much of its precarious supplies of provisions.

A year's residence at the mouth of the Columbia, and various
expeditions in the interior, had now given the Astorians some
idea of the country. The whole coast is described as remark
ably rugged and mountainous ; with dense forests of hemlock,
spruce, white and red cedar, cotton-wood, white oak$ white
and swamp ash, willow, and a few walnut. There is likewise
an undergrowth of aromatic shrubs, creepers, and clambering
vines, that render the forests almost impenetrable ; together
with berries of various kinds, such as gooseberries, strawber
ries, raspberries, both red and yellow, very large and finely
flavored whortleberries, cranberries, serviceberries, blackber
ries, currants, sloes, and wild and choke cherries.

Among the flowering vines is one deserving of particular
notice. Each flower is composed of six leaves or petals, about
three inches in length, of a beautiful crimson, the inside spotted
with white. Its leaves, of a fine green, are oval, and disposed
by threes. This plant climbs upon the trees without attaching
itself to them ; when it has reached the topmost branches, it
descends perpendicularly, and as it continues to grow, extends
from tree to tree, until its various stalks interlace the grove
like the rigging of a ship. The stems or trunks of this vine

ANIMALS BIRDS REPTILES. 81

are tougher and more flexible than willow, and are from fifty
to one hundred fathoms in length. From the fibres, the
Indians manufacture baskets of such close texture as to hold
water.

The principal quadrupeds that had been seen by the colo
nists in their various expeditions, were the stag, fallow deer,
hart, black and grizzly bear, antelope, ahsahta or bighorn,
beaver, sea and river otter, muskrat, fox, wolf, -and panther,
the latter extremely rare. The only domestic animals among
the natives were horses and dogs.

The country abounded with aquatic and land birds, such as
swans, wild geese, brant, ducks of almost every description,
pelicans, herons, gulls, snipes, curlews, eagles, vultures, crows,
ravens, magpies, woodpeckers, pigeons, partridges, pheasants,
grouse, and a great variety of singing birds.

There were few reptiles ; the only dangerous kinds were
the rattlesnake, and one striped with black, yellow, and white,
about four feet long. Among the lizard kind was one about
nine or ten inches in length, exclusive of the tail, and three
inches in circumference. The tail was round, and of the same
length as the body. The head was triangular, covered with
small square scales. The upper part of the body was like
wise covered with small scales,, green, yellow, black and blue.
Each foot had five toes, furnished with v strong nails, probably
to aid it in burrowing, as it usually lived under ground on the
plains.

A remarkable fact, characteristic of the country west of the
Rocky mountains, is the mildness and equability of the climate.
That great mountain barrier seems to divide the continent into
different climates, even in the same degrees of latitude. The
rigorous winters and sultry summers, and all the capricious
inequalities of temperature prevalent on the Atlantic side of

CLIMATE WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS.

the mountains, are but little felt on their western declivities.
The countries between them and the Pacific are blest with
milder and steadier temperature, resembling the climates of
parallel latitudes in Europe. In the plains and valleys, but
little snow falls throughout the winter, and usually melts while
falling. It rarely lies on the ground more than two days at a
time, except on the summits of the mountains. The winters
are rainy rather than cold. The rains for five months, from
the middle of October to the middle of March, are almost
incessant, and often accompanied by tremendous thunder and
lightning. The winds prevalent at this season are from the
south and southeast, which usually bring rain. Those from
the north to the southwest are the harbingers of fair weather
and a clear sky. The residue of the year, from the middle of
March to the middle of October, an interval of seven months,
is serene and delightful. There is scarcely any rain through
out this time, yet the face of the country is kept fresh and
verdant by nightly dews, and occasionally by humid fogs in the
mornings. These are not considered prejudicial to health,
since both the natives and the whites sleep in the open air
with perfect impunity. While this equable and bland temper
ature prevails throughout the lower country, the peaks and
ridges of the vast mountains by which it is dominated, are
covered with perpetual snow. This renders them discernable
at a great distance, shining at times like bright summer clouds,
at other times assuming the most aerial tints, and always
forming brilliant and striking features in the vast landscape.
The mild temperature prevalent throughout the country is attri
buted by some to the succession of winds from the Pacific
ocean, extending from latitude twenty degrees to at least fifty
degrees north. These temper the heat of summer, so that in
the shade no one is incommoded by perspiration ; they also

VARIOUS SOILS. 83

soften the rigors of winter, and produce such a moderation in
the climate, that the inhabitants can wear the same dress
throughout the year.

The soil in the neighborhood of the sea coast is of a brown
color, inclining to red, and generally poor ; being a mixture of
clay and gravel. In the interior, and especially in the valleys
of the Rocky mountains, the soil is generally blackish ; though
sometimes yellow. It is frequently mixed with marl and with
marine substances, in a state of decomposition. This kind of
soil extends to a considerable depth, as may be perceived in
the deep cuts made by ravines, and by the beds of rivers.
The vegetation in these valleys is much more abundant than
near the coast ; in fact, it is in these fertile intervals, locked
up between rocky sierras, or scooped out from barren wastes,
that population must extend itself, as it were, in veins and
ramifications, if ever the regions beyond the mountains should
become civilized.

84 NATIVES OF THE COAST.

CHAPTER X.

NATIVES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ASTORIA — THEIR PERSONS AND CHAR
ACTERISTICS CAUSES OF DEFORMITY THEIR DRESS THEIR CONTEMPT

OF BEARDS ORNAMENTS ARMOR AND WEAPONS MODE OF FLATTEN
ING THE HEAD EXTENT OF THE CUSTOM RELIGIOUS BELIEF THE TWO

GREAT SPIRITS OF THE AIR AND OF THE FIRE PRIESTS OR MEDICINE

MEN THE RIVAL IDOLS POLYGAMY A CAUSE OF GREATNESS PETTY

WARFARE MUSIC, DANCING, GAMBLING THIEVING A VIRTUE KEEN TRA
DERS INTRUSIVE HABITS ABHORRENCE OF DRUNKENNESS ANECDOTE

OF COMCOMLY.

A BRIEF mention has already been made of the tribes or
hordes existing about the lower part of the Columbia at the
time of the settlement ; a few more particulars concerning
them may be acceptable. The four tribes nearest to Astoria,
and with whom the traders had most intercourse, were, as has
heretofore been observed, the Chinooks, the Clatsops, the
Wahkiacums, and the Cathlamets. The Chinooks resided
chiefly along the banks of a river of the same name, running
parallel to the sea coast, through a low country studded with
stagnant pools, and emptying itself into Baker's bay, a few
miles from Cape Disappointment. This was the tribe over
which Comcomly, the one eyed chieftain, held sway ; it
boasted two hundred and fourteen fighting men. Their chief
subsistence was on fish, with an occasional regale of the flesh
of elk and deer, and of wild fowl from the neighboring ponds.

THEIR PERSONS AND FEATURES. 85

The Clatsops resided on both sides of Point Adams ; they
were the mere reliques of a tribe which had been nearly swept
off by the smallpox, and did not number more than one hun
dred and eighty fighting men.

The Wahkiacums, or Waak-i-cums, inhabited the north side
of the Columbia, and numbered sixty-six warriors. They
and the Chinooks were originally the same ; but a dispute
arising about two generations previous to the time of the
settlement between the ruling chief and his brother Wahkia-
cum ; the latter seceded, and with his adherents, formed the
present horde which continues to go by his name. In this
way new tribes or clans are formed, and lurking causes of
hostility engendered.

The Cathlemets lived opposite to the lower village of the
Wahkiacums, and numbered ninety-four warriors.

These four tribes, or rather clans, have every appearance
of springing from the same origin, resembling each other in
person, dress, language and manners. They are rather a
diminutive race, generally below five feet, five inches, with
crooked legs and thick ankles ; a deformity caused by their
passing so much of their time sitting or squatting upon the
calves of their legs, and their heels, in the bottom of their
canoes ; a favorite position, which they retain, even when on
shore. The women increase the deformity by wearing tight
bandages round the ankles, which prevent the circulation of
the blood, and cause a swelling of the muscles of the leg.

Neither sex can boast of personal beauty. Their faces are
round, with small, but animated eyes. Their noses are broad
and flat at top, and fleshy at the end, with large nostrils. They
have wide mouths, thick lips, and short, irregular and dirty
teeth. Indeed, good teeth are seldom to be seen among the
tribes west of the Rocky mountains, who live chiefly on fish.

VOL. II. 8

86 THEIR DRESS.

In the early stages of their intercourse with white men,
these savages were but scantily clad. In summer time the men
went entirely naked ; in the winter and in bad weather, the
men wore a small robe, reaching to the middle of the thigh,
made of the skins of animals, or of the wool of the mountain
sheep. Occasionally, they wore a kind of mantle of matting,
to keep off the rain ; but, having thus protected the back and
shoulders, they left the rest of the body naked.

The women wore similar robes, though shorter, not reaching
below the waist ; beside which, they had a kind of petticoat,
or fringe, reaching from the waist to the knee, formed of the
fibres of Cedar bark, broken into strands, or a tissue of silk
grass twisted and knotted at the ends. This was the usual
dress of the women in summer ; should the weather be in
clement, they added a vest of skins, similar to the robe.

The men care'fully eradicated every vestige of a beard, con
sidering it a great deformity. They looked with disgust at
the whiskers and well furnished chins of the white men, and
and in derision called them Long beards. Both sexes, on
the other hand, cherished the hair of the head, which with
them is generally black and rather coarse. They allowed it
to grow to a great length, and were very proud and careful
of it, sometimes wearing it plaited, sometimes wound round
the head in fanciful tresses. No greater affront could be offered
to them than to cut off their treasured locks.

They had conical hats with narrow rims, neatly woven of
bear grass or of the fibres of cedar bark, interwoven with
designs of various shapes and colors ; sometimes merely
squares and triangles, at other times rude representations of
canoes, with men fishing and harpooning. These hats were
nearly water proof, and extremely durable.

The favorite ornaments of the men were collars of bears'

ORNAMENTS ARMOR. 87

claws, the proud trophies of hunting exploits ; while the women
and children wore similar decorations of elk's tusks. An
intercourse with the white traders, however, soon effected a
change in the toilets of both sexes. They became fond of
arraying themselves in any article of civilized dress which
they could procure, and often made a most grotesque appear
ance. They adapted many articles of finery, also, to their
own previous tastes. Both sexes were fond of adorning them
selves with bracelets of iron, brass or copper. They were
delighted, also, with blue and white beads, particularly the
former, and wore broad tight bands of them round the waist
and ancles ; large rolls of them round the neck, and pendants
of them in the ears. The men, especially, who, in savage life
carry a passion for personal decoration farther than the females,
did not think their gala equipments complete, unless they had
a jewel of haiqua, or wampum, dangling at the nose. Thus
arrayed, their hair besmeared with fish oil, and their bodies
bedaubed with red clay, they considered themselves irresistible.
When on warlike expeditions, they painted their faces and
bodies in the most hideous and grotesque manner, according
to the universal practice of American savages. Their arms
were bows and arrows, spears, and war clubs. Some wore a
corslet, formed of pieces of hard wood, laced together with
bear grass, so as to form a light coat of mail, pliant to the
body ; and a kind of casque of cedar bark, leather, and bear
grass, sufficient to protect the head from an arrow or a war
club. A more complete article of defensive armor was a buff
jerkin or shirt of great thickness, made of doublings of elk
skin, and reaching to the feet, holes being left for the head
and arms. This was perfectly arrow proof; add to which,
it was often endowed with charmed virtues, by the spells and
mystic ceremonials of the medicine man, or conjurer.

88 FLATTENING OF THE HEAD.

Of the peculiar custom, prevalent among these people, of
flattening the head, we have already spoken. It is one of
those instances of human caprice, like the crippling of the
feet of females in China, which are quite incomprehensible.
This custom prevails principally among the tribes on the sea
coast, and about the lower parts of the rivers. How far it
extends along the coast we are not able to ascertain. Some
of the tribes, both north and south of the Columbia, practice
it ; but they all speak the Chinook language, and probably
originated from the same stock. As far as we can learn, the
remoter tribes, which speak an entirely different language, do
not flatten the head. This absurd custom declines, also, in
receding from the shores of the Pacific ; few traces of it are
to be found among the tribes of the Rocky mountains, and
after crossing the mountains it disappears altogether. Those
Indians, therefore, about the head waters of the Columbia, and
in the solitary mountain regions, who are often called Flat-
heads, must not be supposed to be characterized by this de
formity. It is an appellation often given by the hunters east
of the mountain chain, to all the western Indians, excepting
the Snakes.

The religious belief of these people was extremely limited
and confined ; or rather, in all probability, their explanations
were but little understood by their visiters. They had an idea
of a benevolent and omnipotent spirit, the creator of all things.
They represent him as assuming various shapes at pleasure,
but generally that of an immense bird. He usually inhabits
the sun, but occasionally wings his way through the aerial
regions, and sees all that is doing upon earth. Should any
thing displease him, he vents his wrath in terrific storms and
tempests, the lightning being the flashes of his eyes, and the
thunder the clapping of his wings. To propitiate his favor

THE AIR SPIRIT AND THE FIRE SPIRIT. 89

they offer to him annual sacrifices of salmon and venison, the
first fruits of their fishing and hunting.

Beside this aerial spirit they believe in an inferior one,
who inhabits the fire, and of whom they are in perpetual
dread, as, though he possesses equally the power of good and
evil, the evil is apt to predominate. They endeavor, there
fore, to keep him in good humor by frequent offerings. He is
supposed also to have great influence with the winged spirit,
their sovereign protector and benefactor. They implore him,
therefore, to act as their interpreter and procure them all
describable things, such as success in fishing and hunting,
abundance of game, fleet horses, obedient wives, and male
children.

These Indians have likewise their priests, or conjurers, or
medicine men, who pretend to be in the confidence of the
deities, and the expounders and enforcers of their will. Each
of these medicine men has his idols carved in wood, repre
senting the spirits of the air and of the fire, under some rude
and grotesque form of a horse, a bear, a beaver, or other
quadruped, or that of a bird or fish. These idols are hung
round with amulets and votive offerings, such as beaver's teeth,
and bear's and and eagle's claws.

When any chief personage is on his death bed, or danger
ously ill, the medicine men are sent for. Each brings with
him his idols, with which he retires into a canoe to hold a
consultation. As doctors are prone to disagree, so these
medicine men have now and then a violent altercation as to
the malady of the patient, or the treatment of it. To settle
this they beat their idols soundly against each other ; which
ever first loses a tooth or a claw is considered as confuted,
and his votary retires from the field.

Polygamy is not only allowed, but considered honorable,

8*

90 POLYGAMY A TITLE TO OFFICE.

and the greater number of wives a man can maintain, the more
important is he in the eyes of the tribe. The first wife, how
ever, takes rank of all the others, and is considered mistress
of the house. Still the domestic establishment is liable to
jealousies and cabals, and the lord and master has much dif
ficulty in maintaining harmony in his jangling household.

In the manuscript from which we draw many of these
particulars, it is stated that he who exceeds his neighbors in
the number of his wives, male children and slaves, is elected
chief of the village ; a title to office which we do not recollect
ever before to have met with.

Feuds are frequent among these tribes, but are not very
deadly. They have occasionally pitched battles, fought on
appointed days, and at specified places, which are generally
the banks of a rivulet. The adverse parties post themselves
on the opposite sides of the stream, and at such distances
that the battles often last a long while before any blood is
shed. The number of killed and wounded seldom exceed
half a dozen. Should the damage be equal on each side, the
war is considered as honorably concluded ; should one party
lose more than the other, it is entitled to a compensation in
slaves or other property, otherwise hostilities are liable to be
renewed at a future day. They are much given also to preda
tory inroads into the territories of their enemies, and some
times of their friendly neighbors. Should they fall upon a
band of inferior force, or upon a village, weakly defended,
they act with the ferocity of true poltroons, slaying all the men
and carrying off the women and children as slaves. As to
the property, it is packed upon horses which they bring with
them for the purpose. They are mean and paltry as warriors,
and altogether inferior in heroic qualities to the savages of the
buffalo plains on the east side of the mountains.

STEALING CONSIDERED A MERIT. 91

A great portion of their time is passed in revelry, music,
dancing and gambling. Their music scarcely deserves the
name; the instruments being of the rudest kind. Their sing
ing is harsh and discordant, the songs are chiefly extempore,
relating to passing circumstances, the persons present, or any
trifling object that strikes the attention of the singer. They
have several kinds of dances, some of them lively and pleasing.
The women are rarely permitted to dance with the men. but
form groups apart, dancing to the same instrument and song.

They have a great passion for play, and a variety of games.
To such a pitch of excitement are they sometimes roused,
that they gamble away every thing they possess, even to their
wives and children. They are notorious thieves, also, and
proud of their dexterity. He who is frequently successful,
gains much applause and popularity ; but the clumsy thief,
who is detected in some bungling attempt, is scoffed at and
despised, and sometimes severely punished.

Such are a few leading characteristics of the natives in the
neighborhood of Astoria. They appear to us inferior in many
respects to the tribes east of the mountains, the bold rovers
of the prairies ; and to partake much of the Esquimaux char
acter ; elevated in some degree by a more genial climate, and
more varied style of living.

The habits of traffic engendered at the cataracts of the
Columbia, have had their influence along the coast. The
Chinooks and other Indians at the mouth of the river, soon
proved themselves keen traders, and in their early dealings
with the Astorians, never hesitated to ask three times what
they considered the real value of an article. They were
inquisitive, also, in the extreme, and impertinently intrusive ;
and were prone to indulge in scoffing and ridicule, at the
expense of the strangers.

92 ANECDOTE OF COMCOMLY.

In one thing, however, they showed superior judgment and
self-command, to most of their race ; this was, in their absti
nence from ardent spirits, and the abhorrence and disgust with
which they regarded a drunkard. On one occasion, a son
of Comcomly had been induced to drink freely at the factory,
and went home in a state of intoxication, playing all kinds
of mad pranks, until he sank into a stupor, in which he re
mained for two days. The old chieftain repaired to his friend,
M'Dougal, with indignation flaming in his countenance, and
bitterly reproached him for having permitted his son to degrade
himself into a beast, and to render himself an object of scorn
and laughter to his slave.

VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS SET ON FOOT. 93

CHAPTER XL

SPRING ARRANGEMENTS AT ASTORIA — VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS SET OUT — THE
LONG NARROWS — PILFERING INDIANS — THIEVISH TRIBE AT WISH-RAM —

PORTAGE AT THE FALLS PORTAGE BY MOONLIGHT AN ATTACK, A ROUT,

AND A ROBBERY INDIAN CURE FOR COWARDICE A PARLEY AND COM
PROMISE THE DESPATCH PARTY TURN BACK MEET CROOKS AND JOHN

DAY THEIR SUFFERINGS INDIAN PERFIDY ARRIVAL AT ASTORIA.

As the spring opened, the little settlement of Astoria was in
agitation, and prepared to send forth various expeditions. Se
veral important things were to be done. It was necessary to
send a supply of goods to the trading post of Mr. David Stuart,
established in the preceding autumn on the Oakinagan. The
cache, or secret deposit made by Mr. Hunt at the Caldron
Linn, was likewise to be visited, and the merchandize and
other effects left there, to be brought to Astoria. A third
object of moment was to send despatches overland to Mr.
Astor at New York, informing him of the state of affairs at the
settlement, and the fortunes of the several expeditions.

The task of carrying supplies to Oakinagan was assigned to
Mr. Robert Stuart, a spirited and enterprising young man,
nephew to the one who had established the post. The cache
was to be sought out by two of the clerks, named Russell
Farnham and Donald M'Gilles, conducted by a guide, and
accompanied by eight men, to assist in bringing home the
goods.

94 REED AND HIS DESPATCHES.

As to the despatches, they were confided to Mr. John Reed,
the clerk, the same who had conducted one of the exploring
detachments of Snake river. He was now to trace back his
way across the mountains by the same route by which he had
come, with no other companions or escort than Ben Jones, the
Kentucky hunter, and two Canadians. As it was still hoped
that Mr. Crooks might be in existence, and that Mr. Reed
and his party might meet with him in the course of their route,
they were charged with a small supply of goods and provisions,
to aid that gentleman on his way to Astoria.

When the expedition of Reed was made known, Mr. M'Lel-
lan announced his determination to accompany it. He had
long been dissatisfied with the smallness of his interest in the
copartnership, and had requested an additional number of
shares ; his request not being complied with, he resolved to
abandon the company. M'Lellan was a man of a singularly
self-willed and decided character, with whom persuasion was
useless ; he was permitted, therefore, to take his own course
without opposition.

As to Reed, he set about preparing for his hazardous jour
ney with the zeal of a true Irishman. He had a tin case
made, in which the letters and papers addressed to Mr. Astor
were carefully soldered up. This case he intended to strap
upon his shoulders, so as to bear it about with him, sleeping
and waking, in all changes and chances, by land or by water,
and never to part with it but with his life !

As the route of these several parties would be the same for
nearly four hundred miles up the Columbia, and within that
distance would lie through the piratical pass of the rapids, and
among the freebooting tribes of the river, it was thought advis
able to start about the same time, and to keep together. Ac
cordingly, on the 22d of March, they all set off, to the number

THE PIRATICAL PASS. 95

of seventeen men, in two canoes ; — and here we cannot but
pause to notice the hardihood of these several expeditions,
so insignificant in point of force, and severally destined to
traverse immense wildernesses, where larger parties had expe
rienced so much danger and distress. When recruits were
sought in the preceding year among experienced hunters and
voyageurs at Montreal and St. Louis, it was considered dan
gerous to attempt to cross the Rocky mountains with less than
sixty men ; and yet here we find Reed ready to push his way
across those barriers with merely three companions. Such is
the fearlessness, the insensibility to danger, which men acquire
by the habitude of constant risk. The mind, like the body,
becomes callous by exposure.

The little associated band proceeded up the river, under the
command of Mr. Robert Stuart, and arrived early in the month
of April at the Long Narrows, that notorious plundering place.
Here it was necessary to unload the canoes, and to transport
both them and their cargoes to the head of the Narrows by
land. Their party was too few in number for the purpose.
They were obliged, therefore, to seek the assistance of the
Cathlasco Indians, who undertook to carry the goods on their
horses. Forward then they set, the Indians with their horses
well freighted, and the first load convoyed by Reed and five
men, well armed ; the gallant Irishman striding along at the
head, with his tin case of despatches glittering on his back.
In passing, however, through a rocky and intricate defile, some
of the freebooting vagabonds turned their horses up a narrow
path and galloped off, carrying with them two bales of goods,
and a number of smaller articles. To follow them was use
less ; indeed, it was with much ado that the convoy got into
port with the residue of the cargoes ; for some of the guards
were pillaged of their knives and pocket handkerchiefs, and

THIEVISH INDIANS.

the lustrous tin case of Mr. John Reed was in imminent
jeopardy.

Mr. Stuart heard of these depredations, and hastened for
ward to the relief -of the convoy, but could not reach them
before dusk, by which time they had arrived at the village of
Wish-ram, already noted for its great fishery, and the knavish
propensities of its inhabitants. Here they found themselves
benighted in a strange place, and surrounded by savages bent
on pilfering, if not upon open robbery. Not knowing what
active course to take, they remained under arms all night,
without closing an eye, and at the very first peep of dawn,
when objects were yet scarce visible, every thing was hastily
embarked, and, without seeking to recover the stolen effects,
they pushed off from shore ; " glad to bid adieu," as they said,
"to this abominable nest of miscreants."

The worthies of Wish-ram, however, were not disposed to
part so easily with their visiters. Their cupidity had been
quickened by the plunder which they had already taken, and
their confidence increased by the impunity with which their
outrage had passed. They resolved, therefore, to take further
toll of the travellers, and, if possible, to capture the tin case of
despatches ; which, shining conspicuously from afar, and being
guarded by John Reed with such especial care, must, as they
supposed, be " a great medicine."

Accordingly, Mr. Stuart and his comrades had not proceeded
far in the canoes, when they beheld the whole rabble of Wish-
ram stringing in groups along the bank, whooping and yelling,
and gibbering in their wild jargon, and when they landed
below the falls, they were surrounded by upwards of four hun
dred of these river ruffians, armed with bows and arrows, war
clubs, and other savage weapons. These now pressed for
ward, with offers to carry the canoes and effects up the por-

PORTAGE AT THE FALLS. 97

tage. Mr. Stuart declined forwarding the goods, alleging the
lateness of the hour ; but, to keep them in good-humor, inform
ed them that, if they conducted themselves well, their offered
services might probably be accepted in the morning ; in the
meanwhile, he suggested that they might carry up the canoes.
They accordingly set off with the two canoes on their shoul
ders, accompanied by a guard of eight men well armed.

When arrived at the head of the falls, the mischievous spirit
of the savages broke out, and they were on the point of de
stroying the canoes, doubtless with a view to impede the white
men from carrying forward their goods, and laying them open
to further pilfering. They were with some difficulty prevented
from committing this outrage by the interference of an old
man, who appeared to have authority among them ; and, in
consequence of his harangue, the whole of the hostile band,
with the exception of about fifty, crossed to the north side of
the river, where they lay in wait, ready for further mischief.

In the meantime, Mr. Stuart, who had remained at the foot
of the falls with the goods, and who knew that the proffered
assistance of the savages was only for the purpose of having
an opportunity to plunder, determined, if possible, to steal a
march upon them, and defeat their machinations. In the dead
of the night, therefore, about one o'clock, the moon shining
brightly, he roused his party, and proposed that they should
endeavor to transport the goods themselves, above the falls,
before the sleeping savages could be aware of their operations.
All hands sprang to the work with zeal, and hurried it on in
the hope of getting all over before daylight. Mr. Stuart went
forward with the first loads, and took his station at the head
of the portage, while Mr. Reed and Mr. M'Lellan remained at
the foot to forward the remainder.

The day dawned before the transportation was completed.

VOL. II. 9

98 REED'S TIN BOX.

Some of the fifty Indians who had remained on the south side
of the river, perceived what was going on, and, feeling them
selves too weak for an attack, gave the alarm to those on the
opposite side, upwards of a hundred of whom embarked in
several large canoes. Two loads of goods yet remained to be
brought up. Mr. Stuart despatched some of the people for one
of the loads, with a request to Mr. Reed to retain with him as
many men as he thought necessary to guard the remaining
load, as he suspected hostile intentions on the part of the
Indians. Mr. Reed, however, refused to retain any of them,
saying that M'Lellan and himself were sufficient to protect the
small quantity that remained. The men accordingly departed
with the load, while Reed and M'Lellan continued to mount
guard over the residue. By this time, a number of the canoes
had arrived from the opposite side. As they approached the
shore, the unlucky tin box of John Reed, shining afar like the
brilliant helmet of Euryalus, caught their eyes. No sooner did
the canoes touch the shore, than they leaped forward on the
rocks, set up a war-whoop, and sprang forward to secure the
glittering prize. Mr. M'Lellan, who was at the river bank,
advanced to guard the goods, when one of the savages at
tempted to hoodwink him with his buffalo robe with one hand,
and to stab him with the other. M'Lellan sprang back just
far enough to avoid the blow, and raising his rifle, shot the
ruffian through the heart.

In the meantime, Reed, who with the want of forethought
of an Irishman, had neglected to remove the leathern cover
from the lock of his rifle, was fumbling at the fastenings, when
lie received a blow on the head with a war club that laid him
senseless on the ground. In a twinkling he was stripped of
his rifle and pistols, and the tin box, the cause of all this
onslaught, was borne off in triumph.

INDIAN CURE FOR COWARDICE. 99

At this critical juncture, Mr. Stuart, who had heard the war-
whoop, hastened to the scene of action with Ben Jones, and
seven others, of the men. When he arrived, Reed was wel
tering in his blood, and an Indian standing over him and about
to despatch him with a tomahawk. Stuart gave the word,
when Ben Jones levelled his rifle, and shot the miscreant on
the spot. The men then gave a cheer, and charged upon the
main body of the savages, who took to instant flight. Reed
was now raised from the ground, and borne senseless and
bleeding to the upper end of the portage. Preparations were
made to launch the canoes and embark in all haste, when it
was found that they were too leaky to be put in the water, and
that the oars had been left at the foot of the falls. A scene of
confusion now ensued. The Indians were whooping and
yelling, and running about like fiends. A panic siezed upon
the men, at being thus suddenly checked, the hearts of some
of the Canadians died within them, and two young men actu
ally fainted away. The moment they recovered their senses,
Mr. Stuart ordered that they should be deprived of their arms,
their under garments taken off, and that a piece of cloth should
be tied round their waists, in imitation of a squaw ; an Indian
punishment for cowardice. Thus equipped, they were stowed
away among the goods in one of the canoes. This ludicrous
affair excited the mirth of the bolder spirits, even in the midst
of their perils, and roused the pride of the wavering. The
Indians having crossed back again to the north side, order was
restored, some of the hands were sent back for the oars, others
set to work to caulk and launch the canoes, and in a little
while all were embarked and were continuing their voyage
along the southern shore.

No sooner had they departed, than the Indians returned to

100 AN INDIAN AMBUSH.

the scene of action, bore off their two comrades, who had been
shot, one of whom was still living, and returned to their village.
Here they killed two horses ; and drank the hot blood to give
fierceness to their courage. They painted and arrayed them
selves hideously for battle ; performed the dead dance round
the slain, and raised the war song of vengeance. Then
mounting their horses, to the number of four hundred and fifty
men, and brandishing their weapons, they set off along the
northern bank of the river, to get ahead of the canoes, lie in
wait for them, and take a terrible revenge on the white men.

They succeeded in getting some distance above the canoes
without being discovered, and were crossing the river to post
themselves on the side along which the white men were
coasting, when they were fortunately descried. Mr. Stuart
and his companions were immediately on the alert. As they
drew near to the place where the savages had crossed, they
observed them posted among steep and overhanging rocks,
close along which, the canoe's would have to pass. Finding
that the enemy had the advantage of the ground, the whites
stopped short when within five hundred yards of them, and
discharged and reloaded their pieces. They then made a fire,
and dressed the wounds of Mr. Reed, who had received five
severe gashes in the head. This being done, they lashed the
canoes together, fastened them to a rock at a small distance
from the shore, and there awaited the menaced attack.

They had not been long posted in this manner, when they
saw a canoe approaching. It contained the war-chief of the
tribe, and three of his principal warriors. He drew near, and
made a long harangue, in which he informed them that they
had killed one and wounded another of his nation ; that the
relations of the slain cried out for vengeance, and he had been

PARLEY AND COMPROMISE. 101

compelled to lead them to the fight. Still he wished to spare
unnecessary bloodshed, he proposed, therefore, that Mr. Reed,
who, he observed, was little better than a dead man, might be
given up to be sacrificed to the manes of the deceased warrior.
This would appease the -fury of his friends ; the hatchet would
then be buried, and all thenceforward would be friends. The
answer was a stem refusal and a defiance, and the war-chief
saw that the canoes were well prepared for a vigorous defence.
He withdrew, therefore, and, returning to his warriors among
the rocks held long deliberations. Blood for blood is a prin
ciple in Indian equity and Indian honor ; but though the inhab
itants of Wish-ram were men of war, they were likewise men
of traffic, and it was suggested that honor for once might give
way to profit. A negotiation was accordingly opened with the
white men, and after some diplomacy, the matter was com
promised for a blanket to cover the dead, and some tobacco to
be smoked by the living. This being granted, the heroes of
Wish-ram crossed the river onqe more, returned to their
village to feast upon the horses whose blood they had so
vaingloriously drunk, and the travellers pursued their voyage
without further molestation.

The tin case, however, containing the important despatches
for New York, was irretrievably lost ; the very precaution
taken by the worthy Hibernian to secure his missives, had,
by rendering them conspicuous, produced their robbery. The
object of his over-land journey, therefore, being defeated, he
gave up the expedition. The whole party repaired with Mr.
Robert Stuart to the establishment of Mr. David Stuart, on the
Oakinagan river. After remaining here two or three days,
they all set out on their return to Astoria, accompanied by
Mr. David Stuart. This gentleman, had a large quantity of

9

102 RETROGRADE MARCH.

beaver skins at his establishment, but did not think it prudent
to take them with him, fearing the levy of " black mail" at
the falls.

On their way down, when below the forks of the Columbia,
they were hailed one day from the shore in English. Looking
around, they descried two wretched men, entirely naked.
They pulled to shore ; the men came up and made themselves
known. They proved to be Mr. Crooks and his faithful fol
lower, John Day.

The reader will -recollect, that Mr. Crooks, with Day and
four Canadians, had been so reduced by famine and fatigue,
that Mr. HunJ was obliged to leave them, in the month of
December, on the banks of the Snake river. Their situation
was the more critical, as they were in the neighborhood of a
band of Shoshonies, whose horses had been forcibly seized by
Mr. Hunt's party for provisions. Mr. Crooks remained here
twenty days, detained by the extremely reduced state of John
Day, who was utterly unable to travel, and whom he would not
abandon, as Day had been in his employ on the Missouri, and
had always proved himself most faithful. Fortunately the
Shoshonies did not offer to molest th'em. They had never
before seen white men, and seemed to entertain some super
stitions with regard to them, for, though they would encamp
near them in the day time, they would move 0$ 'with their
tents in the night; and finally disappeared, witnifeut taking
leave.

When Day was sufficiently recovered to travel, they kept
feebly on, sustaining themselves as well as they could, until in
the month of February, when three of the Canadians, fearful
of perishing with want, left Mr. Crooks on a small river, on the
road by which Mr. Hunt had passed in quest of Indians. Mr.

INDIAN PERFIDY. 103

Crooks followed Mr. Hunt's track in the snow for several days,
sleeping as usual in the open air, and suffering all kinds of
hardships. At length, coming to a low prairie, he lost every
appearance of the " trail," and wandered during the remainder
of the winter in the mountains, subsisting sometimes on horse
meat, sometimes on beavers and their skins, and a part of the
time on roots.

About the last of March, the other Canadian gave out, and
was left with a lodge of Shoshonies ; but Mr. Crooks and John
Day still kept on, and finding the snow sufficiently diminished,
undertook, from Indian information, to cross the last mountain
ridge. They happily succeeded, and afterwards fell in with
the Wallah- Wallahs, a tribe of Indians inhabiting the banks
of a river of the same name, and reputed as being frank, hos
pitable and sincere. They proved worthy of the character, for
they received the poor wanderers kindly, killed a horse for
them to eat, and directed them on their way to the Columbia.
They struck the river about the middle of April, and advanced
down it one hundred miles, until they came within about
twenty miles of the falls.

Here they met with some of the " chivalry" of that noted
pass, who received them in a friendly way, and set food before
them ; but, while they were satisfying their hunger, perfidi
ously seized their rifles. They then stripped them naked, and
drove them off, refusing the entreaties of Mr. Crooks for a flint
and steel of which they had robbed him ; and threatening his
life if he did not instantly depart.

In this forlorn plight, still worse off than before, they re
newed their wanderings. They now sought to find their way
back to the hospitable Wallah- Wallahs, and had advanced
eighty miles along the river, when fortunately, on the very

104 ARRIVAL AT ASTORIA.

morning that they were going to leave the Columbia, and
strike inland, the canoes of Mr. Stuart hove in sight.

It is needless to describe the joy of these poor men at once
more finding themselves among countrymen and friends, or of
the honest and hearty welcome with which they were received
by their fellow adventurers. The whole party now continued
down the river, passed all the dangerous places without inter
ruption, and arrived safely at Astoria on the llth of May.

COMPREHENSIVE VIEWS. 105

CHAPTER XII.

COMPREHENSIVE VIEWS — TO SUPPLY THE RUSSIAN FUR ESTABLISHMENT —

AN AGENT SENT TO RUSSIA PROJECT OF AN ANNUAL SHIP THE BEAVER

FITTED OUT HER EQUIPMENT AND CREW INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CAPTAIN

— THE SANDWICH ISLANDS — RUMORS OF THE FATE OF THE TONQUIN —
PRECAUTIONS AT REACHING THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA.

HAVING traced the fortunes of the two expeditions by sea and
land to the mouth of the Columbia, and presented a view of
affairs at Astoria, we will return for a moment to the master
spirit of the enterprise, who regulated the springs of Astoria,
at his residence in New York.

It will be remembered, that a part of the plan of Mr. Astor
was to furnish the Russian fur establishment on the north-west
coast with regular supplies, so as to render it independent
of those casual vessels which cut up the trade and supplied
the natives with arms. This plan had been countenanced by
our own government, and likewise by Count Pahlen, the Rus
sian minister at Washington. As its views, however, were
important and extensive, and might eventually affect a wide
course of commerce, Mr. Astor was desirous of establishing a
complete arrangement on the subject with the Russian Amer
ican Fur Company, under the sanction of the Russian govern
ment. For this purpose, in March, 1811, he despatched a
confidential agent to St. Petersburgh, fully empowered to enter
into the requisite negotiations. A passage was given to this

106 FITTING OUT OF THE BEAVER.

gentleman by the government of the United States, in the
John Adams, one of its armed vessels, bound to a European
port.

The next step of Mr. Astor was, to despatch the annual
ship contemplated on his general plan. He had as yet heard
nothing of the success of the previous expeditions, and had to
proceed upon the presumption that every thing had been af
fected according to his instructions. He accordingly fitted
out a fine ship of four hundred and ninety tons, called the
Beaver, and freighted her with a valuable cargo destined for
the factory, at the mouth of the Columbia, the trade along the
coast, and the supply of the Russian establishment. In this
ship embarked a reinforcement, consisting of a partner, five
clerks, fifteen American laborers, and six Canadian voyageurs.
In choosing his agents for his first expedition, Mr. Astor had
been obliged to have recourse to British subjects experienced
in the Canadian fur trade ; henceforth it was his intention, as
much as possible, to select Americans, so as to secure an
ascendancy of American influence in the management of the
company, and to make it decidedly national.

Accordingly, Mr. John Clarke, the partner who took the
lead in the present expedition, was a native of the United
States, though he had passed much of his life in the north
west, having been employed in the fur trade since the age
of sixteen. Most of the clerks were young gentlemen of
good connections in the American cities, some of whom em
barked in the hope of gain, others through the mere spirit
of adventure incident to youth.

The instructions given by Mr. Astor to Captain Sowle, the
commander of the Beaver, were, in some respects, hypotheti
cal, in consequence of the uncertainty resting upon the pre
vious steps of the enterprise.

SANDWICH ISLANDS. 107

He was to touch at the Sandwich islands, enquire about
the fortunes of the Tonquin, and whether an establishment
had been formed at the mouth of the Columbia. If so, he
was to take as many Sandwich islanders as his ship would
accommodate, and proceed thither. On arriving at the river, he
was to observe great caution, for even if an establishment should
have been formed, it might have fallen into hostile hands. He
was, therefore, to put in as if by casualty or distress, to give
himself out as a coasting trader, and to say nothing about his-
ship being owned by Mr. Astor, until he had ascertained that
every thing was right. In that case, he was to land such part
of his cargo as was intended for the establishment, and to pro
ceed to New Archangel with the supplies intended for the
Russian post at that place, where he could receive peltries in
payment. With these he was to return to Astoria; take in
the furs collected there, and, having completed his cargo by
trading along the coast, was to proceed to Canton. The
captain received the same injunctions that had been given to
Captain Thorn of the Tonquin, of great caution and circum
spection in his intercourse with the natives, and that he should
not permit more than one or two to be on board at a time.

The Beaver sailed from New York on the 10th of October,
1811, and reached the Sandwich 'islands without any occur
rence of moment. Here a rumor was heard of the disastrous
fate of the Tonquin. Deep solicitude was felt by every one
on board for the fate of both expeditions, by sea and land.
Doubts .were entertained whether any establishment had been
formed at the mouth of the Columbia, or whether any of the
company would be found there. After much deliberation, the
captain took twelve Sandwich islanders on board, for the ser
vice of the factory, should there be one in existence, and
proceeded on his voyage.

108 PREPARATIONS— SIGNAL GUNS.

On the 6th of May he arrived off of the mouth of the Co
lumbia, and running as near as possible, fired two signal guns.
No answer was returned, nor was there any signal to be des
cried. Night coming on, the ship stood out to sea, and every
heart drooped as the land faded away. On the following
morning they again ran in within four miles of the shore, and
fired other signal guns, but still without reply. A boat was then
despatched, to sound the channel, and attempt an entrance ;
but returned without success, there being a tremendous swell,
and breakers. Signal guns were fired again in the evening,
but equally in vain, and once more the ship stood off to sea
for the night. The captain now gave up all hope of finding
any establishment at the place, and indulged in the most
gloomy apprehensions. He feared his predecessors had been
massacred before they had reached their place of destination ;
or if they should have erected a factory, that it had been
surprised and destroyed by the natives.

In this moment of doubt and uncertainty, Mr. Clarke an
nounced his determination, in case of the worst, to found an
establishment with the present party, and all hands bravely
engaged to stand by him in the undertaking. The next
morning the ship stood in for the third time, and fired three
signal guns, but with little hope of reply. To the great joy
of the crew, three distinct guns were heard in answer. The
apprehensions of all but Captain Sowle were now at rest.
That cautious commander recollected the instructions given
him by Mr. Astor, and determined to proceed with great cir
cumspection. He was well aware of Indian treachery and
cunning. It was not impossible, he observed, that these
cannon might have been fired by the savages themselves.
They might have surprised the fort, massacred its inmates ;
and these signal guns might only be decoys to lure him across

SIGNAL FLAG. 109

the bar, that they might have a chance of cutting him off, and
seizing his vessel

At length a white flag was descried hoisted as a signal on
cape Disappointment. The passengers pointed to it in triumph,
but the captain did not yet dismiss his doubts. A beacon fire
blazed through the night on the same place, but the captain
observed that all these signals might be treacherous.

On the following morning, May 9th, the vessel came to
anchor off cape Disappointment, outside of the bar. Towards
noon an Indian canoe was seen making for the ship, and all
hands were ordered ^o be on the alert. A few moments after
wards, a barge was perceived following the canoe. The
hopes and fears of those on board of the ship were in tumul
tuous agitation, as the boat drew nigh that was to let them
know the fortunes of the enterprise, and the fate of their pre
decessors. The captain, who was haunted with the idea of
possible treachery, did not suffer his curiosity to get the better
of his caution, but ordered a party of his men under arms, to
receive the visiters. The canoe came first along side, in
which were Comcomly and six Indians ; in the barge were
M'Dougal, M'Lellan, and eight Canadians. A little conversa
tion with these gentlemen dispelled all the captain's fears,
and the Beaver crossing the bar under their pilotage, anchored
safely in Baker's bay.

10

110 OPERATIONS AT ASTORIA

CHAPTER XIII.

ACTIVE OPERATIONS AT ASTORIA VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS FITTED OUT—

ROBERT STUART AND A PARTY DESTINED FOR NEW YORK — SINGULAR
CONDUCT OF JOHN DAY — HIS FATE — PIRATICAL PASS AND HAZARDOUS

PORTAGE RATTLESNAKES THEIR ABHORRENCE OF TOBACCO— ARRIVAL

AMONG THE WALLAH- WALLAHS PURCHASE OF HORSES DEPARTURE OF

STUART AND HIS BAND FOR THE MOUNTAINS.

THE arrival of the Beaver with a reinforcement and supplies,
gave new life and vigor to affairs at Astoria. These were
means for extending the operations of the establishment, and
founding interior trading posts. Two parties were immediately
set on foot to proceed severally under the command of Messrs.
M'Kenzie and Clarke, and establish posts above the forks of
the Columbia, at points where most rivalry and opposition
were apprehended from the North-west Company.

A third party, headed by Mr. David Stuart, was to repair
with supplies to the post of that gentleman on the Oakinagan.
In addition to these expeditions, a fourth was necessary to
convey despatches to Mr. Astor, at New York, in place of
those unfortunately lost by John Reed. The safe conveyance
of these despatches were highly important, as by them Mr.
Astor would receive an account of the state of the factory,
and regulate his reinforcements and supplies accordingly. The
mission was one of peril and hardship, and required a man
of nerve and vigor. It was confided to Robert Stuart, who,

OVER LAND PARTY. Ill

though he had never been across the mountains, and a very
young man, had given proofs of his competency to the task.
Four trusty and well-tried men, who had come over land in
Mr. Hunt's expedition, were given as his guides and hunters.
These were Ben Jones and John Day, the Kentuckians, and
Andri Vallar and Francis Le Clerc, Canadians. Mr. M'Lellan
again expressed his determination to take this opportunity
of returning to the Atlantic states. In this he was joined by
Mr. Crooks, who, notwithstanding all that he had suffered in
the dismal journey of the preceding winter, was ready to
retrace his steps and brave every danger and hardship, rather
than remain at Astoria. This little handful of adventurous
men we propose to accompany in its long and perilous
peregrinations.

The several parties we have mentioned all set off in com
pany on the 29th of June, under a salute of cannon from the
fort. They were to keep together, for mutual protection,
through the piratical passes of the river, and to separate, on
their different destinations, at the forks of the Columbia, Their
number, collectively, was nearly sixty, consisting of partners
and clerks, Canadian voyageurs, Sandwich islanders, and
American hunters ; and they embarked in two barges and ten
canoes.

They had scarcely got under way, when John Day, the
Kentucky hunter, became restless, and uneasy, and extremely
wayward in his deportment. This caused surprise, for in
general he was remarked for his cheerful, manly deportment.
It was supposed that the recollection of past sufferings might
harrass his mind in undertaking to retrace the scenes where
they had been experienced. As the expedition advanced, how
ever, his agitation increased. He began to talk wildly and
incoherently, and to show manifest symptoms of derangement

112 DERANGEMENT OF A HUNTER.

Mr. Crooks now informed his companions that in his deso
late wanderings through the Snake river country during the
preceding winter, in which he had been accompanied by John
Day, the poor fellow's wits had been partially unsettled by the
sufferings and horrors through which they had passed, and he
doubted whether they had ever been restored to perfect sanity.
It was still hoped that this agitation of spirit might pass away
as they proceeded ; but, on the contrary, it grew more and
more violent. His comrades endeavored to divert his mind
and to draw him into rational conversation, but he only became
the more exasperated, uttering wild and incoherent ravings.
The sight of any of the natives put him in an absolute fury,
and he would heap on them the most opprobrious epithets ; re
collecting, no doubt, what he had suffered from Indian robbers.

On the evening of the 2d of July he became absolutely
frantic, and attempted to destroy himself. Being disarmed,
he sank into quietude, and professed the greatest remorse for
the crime he had meditated. He then pretended to sleep,
and having thus lulled suspicion, suddenly sprang up, just
before daylight, seized a pair of loaded pistols, and endeavored
to blow out his brains. In his hurry he fired too high, and
the balls passed over his head. He was instantly secured,
and placed under a guard in one of the boats. How to dis
pose of him was now the question, as it was impossible to
keep him with the expedition. Fortunately Mr. Stuart met
with some Indians accustomed to trade with Astoria. These
undertook to conduct John Day back to the factory, and
deliver him there in safety. It was with the utmost concern
that his comrades saw the poor fellow depart ; for, independent
of his invaluable services as a first rate hunter, his frank loyal
qualities had made him a universal favorite. It may be as
well to add that the Indians executed their task faithfully,

PIRATICAL PASS. 113

and landed John Day among his friends at Astoria ; but his
constitution was completely broken by the hardships he had
undergone, and he died within a year.

On the evening of the 6th of July the party arrived at the
piratical pass of the river, and encamped at the foot of the
first rapid. The next day, before the commencement of the
portage, the greatest precautions were taken to guard against
lurking treachery, or open attack. The weapons of every
man were put in order, and his cartridge-box replenished.
Each one wore a kind of surcoat made of the skin of the elk,
reaching from his neck to his knees, and answering the pur
pose of a shirt of mail, for it was arrow proof, and could even
resist a musket ball at the distance of ninety yards. Thus
armed and equipped, they posted their forces in military style.
Five of the officers took their stations at each end of the
portage, which was between three and four miles in length ;
a number of men mounted guard at short distances along the
heights immediately overlooking the river, while the residue
thus protected from surprise, employed themselves below in
dragging up the barges and canoes, and carrying up the goods
along the narrow margin of the rapids. With these pre
cautions they all passed unmolested. The only accident that
happened was the upsetting of one of the canoes, by which
some of the goods sunk, and others floated down the stream.
The alertness and rapacity of the hordes which infest these
rapids, were immediately apparent. They pounced upon the
floating merchandise with the keenness of regular wreckers.
A bale of goods which landed upon one of the islands was
immediately ripped open, one half of its contents divided
among the captives, and the other half secreted in a lonely hut
in a deep ravine. Mr. Robert Stuart, however, set out in a

canoe with five men and an interpreter, ferreted out the

10*

114 INDIAN FREEBOOTERS.

wreckers in their retreat, and succeeded in wresting from
them their booty.

Similar precautions to those already mentioned, and to a
still greater extent, were observed in passing the long narrows,
and the falls, where they would be exposed to the depreda
tions of the chivalry of Wish-ram, and its freebooting neighbor
hood. In fact, they had scarcely set their first watch one
night, when an alarm of " Indians !" was given. " To arms !"
was the cry, and every man was at his post in an instant.
The alarm was explained ; a war party of Shoshonies had
surprised a canoe of the natives just below the encampment,
had murdered four men and two women, and it was appre
hended they would attack the camp. The boats and canoes
were immediately hauled up, a breastwork was made of them,
and the packages, forming three sides of a square, with the
river in the rear, and thus the party remained fortified through
out the night.

The dawn, however, dispelled the alarm ; the portage was
conducted in peace ; the vagabond warriors of the vicinity
hovered about them while at work, but were kept at a wary
distance. They regarded the loads of merchandise with
wistful eyes, but seeing the " long beards" so formidable in
number, and so well prepared for action, they made no attempt
either by open force or sly pilfering to collect their usual toll,
but maintained a peaceful demeanor, and were afterwards
rewarded for their good conduct with presents of tobacco.

Fifteen days were consumed in ascending from the foot
of the first rapid, to the head of the falls, a distance of about
eighty miles, but full of all kinds of obstructions. Having
happily accomplished these difficult portages, the party, on
the 19th of July, arrived at a smoother part of the river, and
pursued their way up the stream with greater speed and facility.

STOLEN ARTICLES RECOVERED. 115

They were now in the neighborhood where Mr. Crooks and
John Day had been so perfidiously robbed and stripped a few
months previously, when confiding in the proffered hospitality
of a ruffian band. On landing at night, therefore, a vigilant
guard was maintained about the camp. On the following
morning a number of Indians made their appearance, and
came prowling round the party while at breakfast. To his
great delight, Mr. Crooks recognized among them two of the
miscreants by whom he had been robbed. They were in
stantly seized, bound hand and foot, and thrown into one of
the canoes. Here they lay in doleful fright, expecting sum
mary execution. Mr. Crooks, however, was not of a revenge
ful disposition, and agreed to release the culprits as soon as
the pillaged property should be restored. Several savages im
mediately started off in different directions, and before night
the rifles of Crooks and Day were produced ; several of the
smaller articles pilfered from them, however, could not be
recovered.

The bands of the culprits were then removed, and they lost
no time in taking their departure, still under the influence of
abject terror, and scarcely crediting their senses that they had
escaped the merited punishment of their offences.

The country on each side of the river now began to assume
a different character. The hills, and cliffs, and forests, dis
appeared ; vast sandy plains, scantily clothed here and there
with short tufts of grass, parched by the summer sun, stretched
far away to the north and south. The river was occasionally
obstructed with rocks and rapids, but often there were smooth
placid intervals, where the current was gentle, and the boat
men were enabled to lighten their labors with the assistance
of the sail.

The natives in this part of the river resided entirely on the

116 NEST OF RATTLESNAKES.

northern side. They were hunters, as well as fishermen, and
had horses in plenty. Some of these were purchased by the
party, as provisions, and killed on the spot, though they occa
sionally found a difficulty in procuring fuel wherewith to cook
them. One of the greatest dangers that beset the travellers
in this part of their expedition, was the vast number of rattle
snakes which infested the rocks about the rapids and portages,
and on which the men were in danger of treading. They
were often found, too, in quantities about the encampments.
In one place, a nest of them lay coiled together, basking in
the sun. Several guns loaded with shot were discharged at
them, and thirty-seven killed and wounded. To prevent any
unwelcome visits from them in the night, tobacco was occa
sionally strewed around the tents, a weed for which they have
a very proper abhorrence.

On the 28th of July the travellers arrived at the mouth of
the Wallah-Wallah, a bright, clear stream, about six feet deep,
and fifty-five yards wide, which flows rapidly over a bed of
sand and gravel, and throws itself into the Columbia, a few
miles below Lewis river. Here the combined parties that had
thus far voyaged together, were to separate, each for its par
ticular destination.

On the banks of the Wallah- Wallah lived the hospitable
tribe of the same name who had succored Mr. Crooks and
John Day in the time of their extremity. No sooner did
they hear of the arrival of the party, than they hastened to
greet them. They built a great bonfire on the bank of the
river, before the camp, and men and women danced round it
to the cadence of their songs, in which they sang the praises
of the white men, and welcomed them to their country.

On the following day a traffic was commenced, to procure
horses for such of the party as intended to proceed by land.

WALLAH-WALLAH HORSEMEN. 117

The Wallah- Wallahs are an equestrian tribe. The equipments
of their horses were rude and inconvenient. High saddles,
roughly made of deer skin, stuffed with hair, which chafe the
horse's back, and leave it raw ; wooden stirrups, with a thong
of raw hide wrapped round them ; and for bridles they have
cords of twisted horse hair, which they tie round the under
jaw. They are like most Indians, bold, but hard riders, and
when on horseback gallop about the most dangerous places,
without fear for themselves, or pity for their steeds.

From these people Mr. Stuart purchased twenty horses for
his party ; some for the saddle, and others to transport the
baggage. He was fortunate in procuring a noble animal for
his own use, which was praised by the Indians for its great
speed and bottom, and a high price set upon it. No people
understand better the value of a horse, than these equestrian
tribes ; and no where is speed a greater requisite, as they
frequently engage in the chase of the antelope, one of the
fleetest of animals. Even after the Indian who sold this
boasted horse to Mr. Stuart had conclued his bargain, he
lingered about the animal, seeming loth to part from him, and
to be sorry for what he had done.

A day or two were employed by Mr. Stuart in arranging
packages and pack saddles, and making other preparations for
his long and arduous journey. His party, by the loss of John
Day, was now reduced to six, a small number for such an
expedition. They were young men, however, full of courage,
health, and good spirits, and stimulated, rather than appalled
by danger.

On the morning of the 31st of July, all preparation being
concluded, Mr. Stuart and his little band mounted their steeds
and took a farewell of their fellow travellers, who gave them
three hearty cheers as they set out on their dangerous journey.

118 DISTANT MOUNTAINS.

The course they took was to the southeast, towards the fated
region of the Snake river. At an immense distance rose a
chain of craggy mountains, which they would have to traverse ;
they were the same among which the travellers had expe
rienced such sufferings from cold during the preceding winter,
and from their azure tints, when seen at a distance, had re
ceived the name of the Blue mountains.

SUNBURNT HILLS. 119

CHAPTER XIV.

ROUTE OF MR. STUART — DREARY WILDS — THIRSTY TRAVELLING — A GROVE
AND STREAMLET THE BLUE MOUNTAINS A FERTILE PLAIN WITH RIVU
LETS SULPHUR SPRING ROUTE ALONG SNAKE RIVER RUMORS OF

WHITE MEN THE SNAKE AND HIS HORSE A SNAKE GUIDE A MIDNIGHT

DECAMPMENT UNEXPECTED MEETING WITH OLD COMRADES STORY OF

TRAPPER'S HARDSHIPS — SALMON FALLS — A GREAT FISHERY — MODE OF

SPEARING SALMON ARRIVAL AT THE CALDRON LlNN STATE OF THE

CACHES NEW RESOLUTION OF THE THREE KENTUCKY TRAPPERS.

IN retracing the route which had proved so disastrous to Mr.
Hunt's party during the preceding winter, Mr. Stuart had
trusted, in the present more favorable season, to find easy
travelling and abundant supplies. On these great wastes and
wilds, however, each season has its peculiar hardships. The
travellers had not preceded far, before they found themselves
among naked and arid hills, with a soil composed of sand and
clay, baked and brittle, that to all appearance had never been
visited by the dews of heaven.

Not a spring, or pool, or running stream was to be seen;
the sunburnt country was seamed and cut up by dry ravines,
the beds of winter torrents, serving only to balk the hopes
of man and beast, with the sight of dusty channels where
water had once poured along in floods.

For a long summer day they continued onward without
halting ; a burning sky above their heads, a parched desert

120 THE UMATALLA.

beneath their feet, with just wind enough to raise the light
sand from the knolls, and envelope them in stifling clouds.
The sufferings from thirst became intense ; a fine young dog,
their only companion of the kind, gave out, and expired.
Evening drew on without any prospect of relief, and they were
almost reduced to despair, when they descried something that
looked like a fringe of forest, along the horizon. All were
inspired with new hope, for they knew that on these arid
wastes, in the neighborhood of trees, there is always water.

They now quickened their pace ; the horses seemed to
understand their motives, and to partake of their anticipations,
for, though before, almost ready to give out, they now required
neither whip nor spur. With all their exertions, it was late
in the night before they drew near to the trees. As they
approached, they heard, with transport, the rippling of a shal
low stream. No sooner did the refreshing sound reach the
ears of the horses, than the poor animals snuffed the air,
rushed forward with ungovernable eagerness, and, plunging
their muzzles into the water, drank until they seemed in dan
ger of bursting. Their riders had but little more discretion,
and required repeated draughts to quench their excessive
thirst. Their weary march that day had been forty-five miles,
over a tract that might rival the deserts of Africa for aridity.
Indeed, the sufferings of the traveller on these American
deserts, is frequently more severe than in the wastes of Africa
or Asia, from being less habituated and prepared to cope
with them.

On the banks of this blessed stream the travellers encamped
for the night ; and so great had been their fatigue, and so sound
and sweet was their sleep, that it was a late hour the next
morning before they awoke. They now recognized the little
river to be the Umatalla, the same on the banks of which

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. .121

Mr. Hunt and his followers had arrived after their painful
struggle through the Blue mountains, and experienced such
a kind relief in the friendly camp of the Sciatogas.

That range of Blue mountains now extended in the distance
before them ; they were the same among which poor Michael
Carriere had perished. They form the southeast boundary
of the great plains along the Columbia, dividing the waters
of its main stream from those of Lewis river. They are, in
fact, a part of a long chain, which stretches over a great extent
of country, and includes in its links the Snake river mountains.

The day was somewhat advanced before the travellers left
the shady banks of the Umatalla. Their route gradually took
them among the Blue mountains, which assumed the most
rugged aspect on a near approach. They were shagged with
dense and gloomy forests, and cut up by deep and precipitous
ravines, extremely toilsome to the horses. Sometimes the
travellers had to follow the course of some brawling stream,
with a broken, rocky bed, which the shouldering cliffs and
promontories on either side, obliged them frequently to cross
and recross. For some miles they struggled forward through
these savage and darkly wooded defiles, when all at once the
whole landscape changed, as if by magic. The rude moun
tains and rugged ravines softened into beautiful hills, and inter
vening meadows, with rivulets winding through fresh herbage,
and sparkling and murmuring over gravelly beds, the whole
forming a verdant and pastoral scene, which derived additional
charms from being locked up in the bosom of such a hard
hearted region.

Emerging from the chain of Blue mountains, they descended
upon a vast plain, almost a dead level, sixty miles in circum
ference, of excellent soil, with fine streams meandering through

it in every direction, their courses marked out in the wide
VOL. n. I 11

122 A SULPHUR SPRING.

landscape, by serpentine lines of cotton-wood trees, and wil
lows, which fringed their banks, and afforded sustenance to
great numbers of beavers and otters.

In traversing this plain, they passed, close to the skirts of
the hills, a great pool of water, three hundred yards in circum
ference, fed by a sulphur spring, about ten feet in diameter,
boiling up in one corner. The vapor from this pool was
extremely noisome, and tainted the air for a considerable dis
tance. The place was much frequented by elk, which were
found in considerable numbers in the adjacent mountains, and
their horns, shed in the spring time, were strewed in every
direction around the pond.

On the 20th of August, they reached the main body of Wood
pile creek, the same stream which Mr. Hunt had ascended in
the preceding year, shortly after his separation from Mr. Crooks.

On the banks of this stream they saw a herd of nineteen
antelopes ; a sight so unusual in that part of the country, that
at first they doubted the evidence of their senses. They tried
by every means to get within shot of them, but they were too
shy and fleet, and after alternately bounding to a distance, and
then stopping to gaze with capricious curiosity at the hunter,
they at length scampered out of sight.

On the 12th of August, the travellers arrived on the banks
of Snake river, the scene of so many trials and mishaps to
all of the present party excepting Mr. Stuart. They struck
the river just above the place where it entered the mountains,
through which Messrs. Stuart and Crooks had vainly endeav
ored to find a passage. The river was here a rapid stream
four hundred yards in width, with high sandy banks, and here
and there a scanty growth of willow. Up the southern side
of the river they now bent their course, intending to visit the
caches made by Mr. Hunt at the Caldron Linn.

NEWS OF STRAGGLERS. 123

On the second evening, a solitary Snake Indian visited
their camp, at a late hour, and informed them that there was
a white man residing at one of the encampments of his tribe,
about a day's journey higher up the river. It was immediately
concluded, that he must be one of the poor fellows of Mr.
Hunt's party, who had given out, exhausted by hunger and
and fatigue, in the wretched journey of the preceding winter.
All present, who had borne a part in the sufferings of that
journey, were eager now to press forward, and bring relief
to a lost comrade. Early the next morning, therefore, they
pushed forward with unusual alacrity. For two days, how
ever, did they travel without being able to find any trace of
such a straggler.

On the evening of the second day, they arrived at a place
where a large river came in from the east, which was re
nowned among all the wandering hordes of the Snake nation,
for its salmon fishery, that fish being taken in incredible quan
tities in this neighborhood. Here, therefore, during the fishing
season, the Snake Indians resort from far and near, to lay in
their stock of salmon, which, with esculent roots, forms the
principal food of the inhabitants of these barren regions.

On the bank of a small stream emptying into Snake river
at this place, Mr. Stuart found an encampment of Shoshonies.
He made the usual inquiry of them concerning the white man
of whom he had received intelligence. No such person was
dwelling among them, but they said there were white men
residing with some of their nation on the opposite side of the
river. This was still more animating information. Mr. Crooks
now hoped that these might be the men of his party, who,
disheartened by perils and hardships, had preferred to remain
among the Indians. Others thought they might be Mr. Miller
and the hunters who had left the main body at Henry's fort,

124 MEETING BETWEEN AN INDIAN AND HIS HORSE.

to trap among the mountain streams. Mr. Stuart halted, there
fore, in the neighborhood of the Shoshonie lodges, and sent an
Indian across the river to seek out the white men in question,
and bring them to his camp.

The travellers passed a restless, miserable night. The
place swarmed with myriads of musquitoes, which, with their
stings and their music, set all sleep at defiance. The morning
dawn, found them in a feverish, irritable mood, and their spleen
was completely aroused by the return of the Indian, without
any intelligence of the white men. They now considered
themselves the dupes of Indian falsehoods and resolved to put
no more confidence in Snakes. They soon, however, forgot
this resolution. In the course of the morning, an Indian came
gallopping after them ; Mr. Stuart waited to receive him ; no
sooner had he come up, than, dismounting and throwing his
arms round the neck of Mr. Stuart's horse, he began to kiss
and caress the animal, who, on his part, seemed by no means
surprised or displeased with his salutation. Mr. Stuart, who
valued his horse highly, was somewhat annoyed by these
transports ; the cause of them was soon explained. The
Snake ~aid the horse had belonged to him, and been the best
in his possession, and that it had been stolen by the Wallah-
Wallahs. Mr. Stuart was by no means pleased with this
recognition of his steed, nor disposed to admit any claim on
the part of its ancient owner. In fact, it was a noble animal,
admirably shaped, of free and generous spirit, graceful in every
movement, and fleet as an antelope. It was his intention,
if possible, to take the horse to New York, and present him
to Mr. Astor.

In the meantime, some of the party came up, and immedi
ately recognized in the Snake an old friend and ally. He
was, in fact, one of the two guides who had conducted Mr.

THE SNAKE OF MAD RIVER. 125

Hunt's party, in the preceding autumn, across Mad river moun
tain, to fort Henry, and who subsequently departed with Mr.
Miller and his fellow trappers, to conduct them to a good
trapping ground. The reader may recollect that these two
trusty Snakes were engaged by Mr. Hunt to return and take
charge of the horses which the party intended to leave at fort
Henry, when they should embark in canoes.

The party now crowded round the Snake, and began to
question him with eagernesss. His replies were somewhat
vague, and but partially understood. He told a long story
about the horses, from which it appeared that they had been
stolen by various wandering bands, and scattered in different
directions. The cache, too, had been plundered, and the
saddles and other equipments carried off. His information con
cerning Mr. Miller and his comrades, was not more satisfactory.
They had trapped for some time about the upper streams, but
had fallen into the hands of a marauding party of Crows, who
had robbed them of horses, weapons, and every thing.

Further questioning brought forth further intelligence, but
all of a disastrous kind. About ten days previously, he had
met with three other white men, in very miserable plight,
having one horse each, and but one rifle among them. They
also had been plundered and maltreated by the Crows, those
universal freebooters. The Snake endeavored to pronounce
the names of these three men, and as far as his imperfect
sounds could be understood, they were supposed to be three
of the party of four hunters, viz. Carson, St. Michael, Detaye
and Delannay, who were detached from Mr. Hunt's party on
the 28th of September, to trap beaver on the head waters of
the Columbia.

In the course of conversation, the Indian informed them

that the route by which Mr. Hunt had crossed the Rocky

11*

126 AN ELOPEMENT.

mountains, was very bad and circuitous, and that he knew one
much shorter and easier. Mr. Stuart urged him to accompany
them as guide, promising to reward him with a pistol with
powder and ball, a knife, an awl, some blue beads, a blanket,
and a looking-glass. Such a catalogue of riches was too
tempting to be resisted; beside, the poor Snake languished
after the prairies ; he was tired, he said, of salmon, and longed
for buffalo meat, and to have a grand buffalo hunt beyond the
mountains. He departed, therefore, with all speed, to get his
arms and equipments for the journey, promising to rejoin the
party the next day. He kept his word, and, as he no longer
said any thing to Mr. Stuart on the subject of the pet horse,
they journeyed very harmoniously together ; though now and
then, the Snake would regard his quondam steed with a
wistful eye.

They had not travelled many miles, when they came to a
great bend of the river. Here the Snake informed them that,
by cutting across the hills they would save many miles of
distance. The route across, however, would be a good day's
journey. He advised them, therefore, to encamp here for the
night, and set off early in the morning. They took his advice,
though they had come but nine miles that day.

On the following morning they rose, bright and early, to
ascend the hills. On mustering their little party, the guide
was missing. They supposed him to be somewhere in the
neighborhood, and proceeded to collect the horses. The
vaunted steed of Mr. Stuart was not to be found. A suspicion
flashed upon his mind. Search for the horse of the Snake ! —
He likewise was gone — the tracks of two horses, one after the
other, were found, making off from the camp. They appeared
as if one horse had been mounted, and the other led. They
were traced for a few miles above the camp, until they both

MEETING WITH LOST COMRADES. 127

crossed the river. It was plain the Snake had taken an Indian
mode of recovering his horse, having quietly decamped with
him in the night.

New vows were made never more to trust in Snakes, or
any other Indians. It was determined, also, to maintain, here
after, the strictest vigilance over their horses, dividing the
night into three watches, and one person mounting guard at a
time. They resolved, also, to keep along the river, instead
of taking the short cut recommended by the fugitive Snake,
whom they now set down for a thorough deceiver. The heat
of the weather was oppressive, and their horses were, at times,
rendered almost frantic by the stings of the prairie flies. The
niglits were suffocating, and it was almost impossible to sleep,
from the swarms of musquitoes.

On the 20th of August they resumed their march, keeping
along the prairie parallel to Snake river. The day was sultry,
and some of the party, being parched with thirst, left the line
of march, and scrambled down the bank of the river to drink.
The bank was overhung with willows, beneath which, to their
surprise, they beheld a man fishing. No sooner did he see
them, than he uttered an exclamation of joy. It proved to be
John Hoback, one of their lost comrades. They had scarcely
exchanged greetings, Avhen three other men came out from
among the willows. They were Joseph Miller, Jacob Rez-
ner, and Robinson, the scalped Kentuckian, the veteran of
the Bloody ground.

The reader will perhaps recollect the abrupt and wilful man
ner in which Mr. Miller threw up his interest as a partner of
the company, and departed from Fort Henry, in company with
these three trappers, and a fourth, named Cass. He may like
wise recognise in Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback, the trio of
Kentucky hunters, who had originally been in the service of

128 MILLER AND Ills MEN.

Mr. Henry, and whom Mr. Hunt found floating down the Mis
souri, on their way homeward ; and prevailed upon, once more,
to cross the mountains. The haggard looks and naked condi
tion of these men proved how much they had suffered. After
leaving Mr. Hunt's party, they had made their way about two
hundred miles to the southward, where they trapped beaver on
a river which, according to their account, discharged itself into
the ocean to the south of the Columbia, but which we appre
hend to be Bear river, a stream emptying itself into lake
Bonneville, an immense body of salt water, west of the Rocky
mountains.

Having collected a considerable quantity of beaver skins,
they made them into packs, loaded their horses, and steeied
two hundred miles due east. Here they came upon an en
campment of sixty lodges of Arapahays, an outlawed band of
the Arapahoes, and notorious robbers. These fell upon the
poor trappers ; robbed them of their peltries, most of their
clothing, and several of their horses. They were glad to
escape with their lives, and without being entirely stripped,
and after proceeding about fifty miles further, made their halt
for the winter.

Early in the spring they resumed their wayfaring, but were
unluckily overtaken by the same ruffian horde, who levied still
further contributions, and carried off the remainder of their
horses, excepting two. With these they continued on, suffer
ing the greatest hardships. They still retained rifles and
ammuiwtion, but were in a desert country, where neither bird
nor beast was to be found. Their only chance was to keep
along the rivers and subsist by fishing ; but at times, no fish
were to be taken, and then their sufferings were horrible. One
of their horses was stolen among the mountains by the Snake
Indians ; the other, they said, was carried off by Cass, who,

MILLER AND HIS MEN. 129

according to their account, " villainously left them in their
extremities." Certain dark doubts and surmises were after
wards circulated concerning the fate of that poor fellow, which,
if true, showed to what a desperate state of famine his
comrades had been reduced.

Being now completely unhorsed, Mr. Miller and his three
companions, wandered on foot for several hundred miles,
enduring hunger, thirst, and fatigue, while traversing the bar
ren wastes which abound beyond the Rocky mountains. At
the time they were discovered by Mr. Stuart's party, they were
almost famished, and were fishing for a precarious meal. Had
Mr. Stuart made the short cut across the hills, avoiding this
bend of the river, or had not some of his party accidentally
gone down to the margin of the stream to drink, these poor
wanderers might have remained undiscovered, and have pe
rished in the wilderness. Nothing could exceed their joy on
thus meeting with their old comrades, or the heartiness with
which they were welcomed. All hands immediately encamp
ed ; and the slender stores of the party were ransacked to
furnish out a suitable regale.

The next morning they all set out together ; Mr. Miller and
his comrades being resolved to give up the life of a trapper,
and accompany Mr. Stuart back to St. Louis.

For several days they kept along the course of Snake river,
occasionally making short cuts across hills and promontories,
where there were bends in the stream. In their way they
passed several camps of Shoshonies, from some of whom they
procured salmon, but in general they were too wretchedly poor
to furnish any thing. It was the wish of Mr. Stuart to pur
chase horses for the recent recruits to his party ; but the
Indians could not be prevailed upon to part with any, alleging
that they had not enough for their own use.

130 THE SALMON FALLS.

On the 25th of August they reached a great fishing place, to
which they gave the name of the Salmon Falls. Here there
is a perpendicular fall of twenty feet on the north side of the
river, while on the south side there is a succession of rapids.
The salmon are taken here in incredible quantities, as they
attempt to shoot the falls. It was now a favorable season, and
there where about one hundred lodges of Shoshonies busily
engaged killing and drying fish. The salmon begin to leap,
shortly after sunrise. At this time the Indians swim to the
centre of the falls, where some station themselves on rocks,
and others stand to their waists in the water, all armed with
spears, with which they assail the salmon as they attempt to
leap, or fall back exhausted. It is an incessant slaughter, so
great is the throng of the fish.

The construction of the spears thus used is peculiar. The
head is a straight piece of elk horn, about seven inches long ;
on the point of which an artificial barb is made fast, with twine
well gummed. The head is stuck on the end of the shaft, a
very long pole of willow, to which it is likewise connected,
by a strong cord a few inches in length. When the spearsman
makes a sure blow, he often strikes the head of the spear
through the body of the fish. It comes off easily, and leaves
the salmon struggling with the string through its body, while
the pole is still held by the spearsman. Were it not for the
precaution of the string, the willow shaft would be snapped by
the struggles and the weight of the fish. Mr. Miller, in the
course of his wanderings, had been at these falls, and had
seen several thousand salmon taken in the course of one after
noon. He declared that he had seen a salmon leap a dis
tance of about thirty feet, from the commencement of the foam
at the foot of the fall, completely to the top.

Having purchased a good supply of salmon from the fisher-

ARRIVAL AT THE CACHES. 131

men, the party resumed their journey, and on the twenty-ninth,
arrived at the Caldron Linn ; the eventful scene of the pre
ceding autumn. Here, the first thing that met their eyes, was
a memento of the perplexities of that period : the wreck of a
canoe, lodged between two ledges of rocks. They endeavored
to get down to it, but the river banks were too high and
precipitous.

They now proceeded to that part of the neighborhood where
Mr. Hunt and his party had made the caches, intending to take
from them such articles as belonged to Mr. Crooks, M'Lellan,
and the Canadians. On reaching the spot, they found, to their
astonishment, six of the caches open and rifled of their con
tents, excepting a few books which lay scattered about the
vicinity. They had the appearance of having been plundered
in the course of the summer. There were tracks of wolves in
every direction, to and from the holes, from which Mr. Stuart
concluded that these animals had first been attracted to the
place by the smell of the skins contained in the caches, which
they had probably torn up, and that their tracks had betrayed
the secret to the Indians.

The three remaining caches, had not been molested : they
contained a few dry goods, some ammunition, and a number of
beaver traps. From these, Mr. Stuart took whatever was
requisite for his party ; he then deposited within them all his
superfluous baggage, and all the books and papers scattered
around ; the holes were then carefully closed up, and all traces
of them effaced. And here we have to record another instance
of the indomitable spirit of the western trappers. No sooner
did the trio of Kentucky hunters, Robinson, Rezner, and Ho-
back, find that they could once more be fitted out for a cam
paign of beaver trapping, than they forgot all that they had
suffered, and determined upon another trial of their fortunes ;

132 THE PERSEVERING TRAPPERS.

preferring to take their chance in the wilderness, rather than
return home ragged and penniless. As to Mr. Miller, he de
clared his curiosity and his desire of travelling through the
Indian countries, fully satisfied ; he adhered to his determina
tion, therefore, to keep on with the party to St. Louis, and to
return to the bosom of civilized society.

The three hunters, therefore, Robinson, Rezner, and Ho-
back, were furnished, as far as the caches and the means of
Mr. Stuart's party afforded, with the requisite munitions and
equipments for a " two years' hunt"; but as their fitting out
was yet incomplete, they resolved to wait in this neighbor
hood until Mr. Reed should arrive ; whose arrival might soon
be expected, as he was to set out for the caches about twenty
days after Mr. Stuart parted with him at the Wallah- Wallah
river.

Mr. Stuart gave in charge to Robinson a letter to Mr. Reed,
reporting his safe journey thus far, and the state in which he
had found the caches. A duplicate of this letter he elevated
on a pole, and set it up near the place of deposit.

All things being thus arranged, Mr. Stuart and his little
band, now seven in number, took leave of the three hardy
trappers, wishing them all possible success in their lonely
and perilous sojourn in the wilderness ; and we, in like man
ner, shall leave them to their fortunes, promising to take them
up again at some future page, and to close the story of their
persevering and ill-fated enterprise.

SNAKE RIVER DESERTS. 133

CHAPTER XV.

THE SNAKE RIVER DESERTS — SCANTY FARE — BEWILDERED TRAVELLERS —
PROWLING INDIANS — A GIANT CROW CHIEF — A BULLY REBUKED — INDIAN

SIGNALS SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAINS MAD RIVER AN ALARM AN IN
DIAN FORAY A SCAMPER A RUDE INDIAN JOKE A SHARP SHOOTER

BALKED OF HIS SHOT.

ON the 1st of September, Mr. Stuart and his companions
resumed their journey, bending their course eastward, along
the course of Snake river. As they advanced, the country
opened. The hills which had hemmed in the river receded
on either hand, and great sandy and dusty plains extended
before them. Occasionally, there were intervals of pasturage,
and the banks of the river were fringed with willows and
cotton wood, so that its course might be traced from the hill
tops, winding under an umbrageous covert, through a wide
sunburnt landscape. The soil, however, was generally poor ;
there was, in some places a miserable growth of wormwood,
and of a plant called saltweed, resembling pennyroyal ; but
the. summer heat had parched the plains, and left but little
pasturage. The game too had disappeared. The hunter
looked in vain over the lifeless landscape ; now and then a
few antelope might be seen, but not within reach of the rifle.
We forbear to follow the travellers in a week's wandering over
these barren wastes, where they suffered much from hunger ;

having to depend upon a few fish from the streams, and now
VOL. n. 12

134 A CROW GIANT AND HIS GANG.

and then a little dried salmon, or a dog, procured from some
forlorn lodge of Shoshonies.

Tired of these cheerless wastes, they left the banks of
Snake river on the 7th of September, under guidance of Mr.
Miller, who, having acquired some knowledge of the country
during his trapping campaign, undertook to conduct them
across the mountains by a better route than that by Fort
Henry, and one more out of the range of the Blackfeet. He
proved, however, but an indifferent guide, and they soon
became bewildered among rugged hills and unknown streams,
and burnt and barren prairies.

At length they came to a river on which Mr. Miller had
trapped, and to which they gave his name ; though, as before
observed, we presume it to be the same called Bear river,
which empties itself into lake Bonneville. Up this river and
its branches they kept for two or three days, supporting them
selves precariously upon fish. They soon found that they
were in a dangerous neighborhood. On the 12th of Septem
ber, having encamped early, they sallied forth with their rods
to angle for their supper. On returning, they beheld a number
of Indians prowling about their camp, whom, to their infinite
disquiet, they soon perceived to be Upsarokas, or Crows.
Their chief came forward with a confident air. He was a
dark herculean fellow, full six feet four inches in height, with
a mingled air of the ruffian and the rogue. He conducted
himself peaceably, however, and despatched some of his
people to their camp, which was somewhere in the neigh
borhood, from whence they returned with a most acceptable
supply of buffalo meat. He now signified to Mr. Stuart that
he was going to trade with the Snakes, who reside on the
west base of the mountains, below Henry's fort. Here they
cultivate a delicate kind of tobacco, much esteemed and sought

A MODEST DEMAND. 135

after by the mountain tribes. There was something sinister,
however, in the look of this Indian, that inspired distrust. By
degrees, the number of his people increased, until, by mid
night, there were twenty-one of them about the camp, who
began to be impudent and troublesome. The greatest uneasi
ness was now felt for the safety of the horses and effects, and
every one kept vigilant watch throughout the night.

The morning dawned, however, without any unpleasant
occurrence, and Mr. Stuart, having purchased all the buffalo
meat that the Crows had to spare, prepared to depart. His
Indian acquaintance, however, were disposed for further
dealings ; and, above all, anxious for a supply of gunpowder,
for which they offered horses in exchange. Mr. Stuart
declined to furnish them with the dangerous commodity.
They became more importunate in their solicitations, until
they met with a flat refusal.

The gigantic chief now stepped forward, assumed a swell
ing air, and, slapping himself upon the breast, gave Mr. Crooks
to understand that he was a chief of great power and import,
ance. He signified, further, that it was customary for great
chiefs when they met, to make each other presents. He
requested, therefore, that Mr. Stuart would alight, and give
him the horse upon which he was mounted. This was a
noble animal, of one of the wild races of the prairies, on
which Mr. Stuart set great value ; he, of course, shook his
head at the request of the Crow dignitary. Upon this the
latter strode up to him, and taking hold of him, moved him
backwards and forwards in his saddle, as if to make him feel
that he was a mere child within his grasp. Mr. Stuart pre
served his calmness, and still shook his head. The chief
then seized the bridle, and gave it a jerk that startled the
horse, and nearly brought the rider to the ground. Mr. Stuart

136 A BULLY REBUKED.

instantly drew forth a pistol, and presented it at the head of
the bully-ruffian. In a twinkling, his swaggering was at an
end, and he dodged behind his horse to escape the expected
shot. As his subject Crows gazed on the affray from a little
distance, Mr. Stuart ordered his men to level their rifles at
them, but not to fire. The whole crew scampered among the
bushes, and throwing themselves upon the ground, vanished
from sight.

The chieftain thus left alone, was confounded for an instant ;
but, recovering himself, with true Indian shrewdness, burst
into a loud laugh, and affected to turn off the whole matter as
a piece of pleasantry. Mr. Stuart by no means relished such
equivocal joking, but it was not his policy to get into a quarrel ;
so he joined, with the best grace he could assume, in the mer
riment of the jocular giant ; and, to console the latter for the
refusal of the horse, made him a present of twenty charges of
powder. They parted, according to all outward professions,
the best friends in the world ; it was evident, however, that
nothing but the smallness of his own force, and the martial
array and alertness of the white men, had prevented the Crow
chief from proceeding to open outrage. As it was, his worthy
followers, in the course of their brief interview, had contrived
to purloin a bag containing almost all the culinary utensils of
the party.

The travellers kept on their way due east, over a chain
of hills. The recent rencontre showed them that they were
now in a land of danger, subject to the wide roamings of a
predacious tribe ; nor, in fact, had they gone many miles,
before they beheld sights calculated to inspire anxiety and
alarm. From the summits of some of the loftiest mountains,
in different directions, columns of smoke began to rise. These
they concluded to be signals made by the runners of the Crow

CROW SIGNALS. 137

chieftain, to summon the stragglers of his band, so as to pursue
them with greater force. Signals of this kind, made by out
runners from one central point, will rouse a wide circuit of
the mountains in a wonderfully short space of time ; and bring
the straggling hunters and warriors to the standard of their
chieftain.

To keep as much as possible out of the way of these free
booters, Mr. Stuart altered his course to the north, and, quitting
the main stream of Miller's river, kept up a large branch that
came in from the mountains. Here they encamped, after a
fatiguing march of twenty-five miles. As the night drew on,
the horses were hobbled, or fettered, and tethered close to the
camp ; a vigilant watch was maintained until morning, and
every one slept with his rifle on his arm.

At sunrise, they were again on the march, still keeping to
the north. They soon began to ascend the mountains, and
occasionally had wide prospects over the surrounding country.
Not a sign of a Crow was to be seen ; but this did not assure
them of their security, well knowing the perseverance of
these savages in dogging any party they intend to rob, and the
stealthy way in which they can conceal their movements,
keeping along ravines and defiles. After a mountain scramble
of twenty-one miles, they encamped on the margin of a stream
running to the north.

In the evening there was an alarm of Indians, and every
one was instantly on the alert. They proved to be three
miserable Snakes, who were no sooner informed that a band
of Crows was prowling in the neighborhood, than they made
off with great signs of consternation.

A couple more of weary days and watchful nights brought
them to a strong and rapid stream, running due north, which

they concluded to be one of the upper branches of Snake river.

12*

138 ENCAMPMENT ON MA.D RIVER.

It was probably the same since called Salt river. They deter
mined to bend their course down this river, as it would take
them still further out of the dangerous neighborhood of the
Crows. They then would strike upon Mr. Hunt's track of the
preceding autumn, and retrace it across the mountains. The
attempt to find a better route under guidance of Mr. Miller had
cost them a large bend to the south ; in resuming Mr. Hunt's
track, they would at least be sure of their road. They accor
dingly turned down along the course of this stream, and at the
end of three days' journey, came to where it was joined by a
larger river, and assumed a more impetuous character, raging
and roaring among rocks and precipices. It proved, in fact, to
be Mad river, already noted in the expedition of Mr. Hunt.
On the banks of this river, they encamped on the 1 8th of Sep
tember, at an early hour.

Six days had now elapsed since their interview with the
Crows, during that time they had come nearly a hundred and
fifty miles to the north and west, without seeing any signs of
those marauders. They considered themselves, therefore,
beyond the reach of molestation, and began to relax in their
vigilance, lingering occasionally for part of a day, where there
was good pasturage. The poor horses needed repose. They
had been urged on, by forced marches, over rugged heights,
among rocks and fallen timber, or over low swampy valleys,
inundated by the labors of the beaver. These industrious
animals abounded in all the mountain streams and water
courses, wherever there were willows for their subsistence.
Many of them they had so completely dammed up as to inun
date the low grounds, making shallow pools or lakes, and
extensive quagmires : by which the route of the travellers was
often impeded.

On the 19th of September, they rose at early dawn ; some

A SURPRISE. 139

began to prepare breakfast, and others to arrange the packs
preparatory to a march. The horses had been hobbled, but
left at large to graze about the adjacent pastures. Mr. Stuart
was on the bank of the river, at a short distance from the
camp, when he heard the alarm cry — " Indians ! Indians ! —
to arras ! to arms ! "

A mounted Crow galloped past the camp, bearing a red flag.
He reined his steed on the summit of a neighboring knoll,
and waved his flaring banner. A diabolical yell now broke
forth on the opposite side of the camp, beyond where the
horses were grazing, and a small troop of savages came gal
loping up, whooping and making a terrific clamor. The horses
took fright, and dashed across the camp in the direction of the
standard bearer, attracted by his waving flag. He instantly
put spurs to his steed, and scoured off, followed by the panic
stricken herd, their fright being increased by the yells of the
savages in their rear.

At the first alarm, Mr. Stuart and his comrades had seized
their rifles, and attempted to cut off the Indians, who were
pursuing the horses. Their attention was instantly distracted
by whoops and yells in an opposite direction. They now
apprehended that a reserve party was about to carry off their
baggage. They ran to secure it. The reserve party, how
ever, galloped by, whooping and yelling in triumph and deri
sion. The last of them proved to be their commander, the
identical giant joker already mentioned. He was not cast in
the stern poetical mould of fashionable Indian heroism, but
on the contrary, was grievously given to vulgar jocularity. As
he passed Mr. Stuart and his companions, he checked his
horse, raised himself in the saddle, and clapping his hand on
the most insulting part of his body, uttered some jeering words,
which, fortunately for their delicacy, they could not under-

140 THE BALKED MARKSMAN.

stand. The rifle of Ben Jones was levelled in an instant, and
he was on the point of whizzing a bullet into the target so
tauntingly displayed. " Not for your life ! not for your life ! "
exclaimed Mr. Stuart, " you will bring destruction on us all ! "

It was hard to restrain honest Ben, when the mark was so
fair and the insult so foul. " Oh, Mr. Stuart," exclaimed he,
" only let me have one crack at the infernal rascal, and you
may keep all the pay that is due to me."

" By heaven, if you fire," cried Mr. Stuart, " I '11 blow your
brains out."

By this time, the Indian was far out of reach, and had
rejoined his men, and the whole dare-devil band, with the
captured horses, scuttled off along the defiles, their red flag
flaunting over head, and the rocks echoing to their whoops
and yells, and demoniac laughter.

The unhorsed travellers gazed after them in silent mortifi
cation and despair ; yet Mr. Stuart could not but admire the
style and spirit with which the whole exploit had been
managed, and pronounced it one of the most daring and intre
pid actions he had ever heard of among Indians. The whole
number of the Crows did not exceed twenty. In this way, a
small gang of lurkers will hurry off the cavalry of a large war
party, for when once a drove of horses are seized with a panic,
they become frantic, and nothing short of broken necks can
stop them.

No one was more annoyed by this unfortunate occurrence
than Ben Jones. He declared he would actually have given
his whole arrears of pay, amounting to upwards of a year's
wages, rather than be balked of such a capital shot. Mr.
Stuart, however, represented what might have been the conse
quence of so rash an act. Life for life is the Indian maxim.
The whole tribe would have made common cause in avenging

INDIAN LURKERS. 141

the death of a warrior. The party were but seven dismounted
men, with a wide mountain region to traverse, infested by
these people, and which might all be roused by signal fires.
In fact, the conduct of the band of marauders in question,
showed the perseverance of savages when once they have
fixed their minds upon a project. These fellows had evi
dently been silently and secretly dogging the party for a week
past, and a distance of a hundred and fifty miles, keeping out
of sight by day, lurking about the encampment at night, watch
ing all their movements, and waiting for a favorable moment
when they should be off their guard. The menace of Mr.
Stuart, in their first interview, to shoot the giant chief with his
pistol, and the fright caused among the warriors by presenting
the rifles, had probably added the stimulus of pique to their
usual horse-stealing propensities, and in this mood of mind
they would doubtless have followed the party throughout
their whole course over the Rocky mountains, rather than be
disappointed in their scheme.

142 TRAVELLERS UNHORSED.

CHAPTER XVI.

TRAVELLERS UNHORSED— PEDESTRIAN PREPARATIONS — PRYING SPIES — BON
FIRE OF BAGGAGE A MARCH ON FOOT RAFTING A RIVER THE WOUNDED

ELK — INDIAN TRAILS — WILFUL CONDUCT OF MR. M'LELLAN — GRAND
PROSPECT FROM A MOUNTAIN DISTANT CRATERS OF VOLCANOES ILL
NESS OF MR. CROOKS.

FEW reverses in this changeful world are more complete and
disheartening than that of a traveller, suddenly unhorsed, in
the midst of the wilderness. Our unfortunate travellers, con
templated their situation for a time, in perfect dismay. A
long journey over rugged mountains and immeasurable plains,
lay before them, which they must painfully perform on foot,
and every thing necessary for subsistence or defence, must be
carried on their shoulders. Their dismay, however, was but
transient, and they immediately set to work, with that prompt
expediency produced by the exigencies of the wilderness, to
fit themselves for the change in their condition.

Their first attention was to select from their baggage such
articles as were indispensable to their journey ; to make them
up into convenient packs, and to deposite the residue in caches.
The whole day was consumed in these occupations ; at night,
they made a scanty meal of their remaining provisions, and
lay down to sleep with heavy hearts. In the morning, they
were up and about at an early hour, and began to prepare their
knapsacks for a march, while Ben Jones repaired to an old

PRYING SPIES A BONFIRE. 143

beaver trap which he had set in the river bank at some little
distance from the camp. He was rejoiced to find a middle-
sized beaver there, sufficient for a morning's meal to his hungry
comrades. On his way back with his prize, he observed two
heads peering over the edge of an impending cliff, several
hundred feet high, which he supposed to be a couple of wolves.
As he continued on, he now and then cast his eye up ; the
heads were still there, looking down with fixed and watchful
gaze. A suspicion now flashed across his mind that they
might be Indian scouts ; and, had they not been far above the
reach of his rifle, he would undoubtedy have regaled them
with a shot.

On arriving at the camp, he directed the attention of his
comrades to these aerial observers. The same idea was at
first entertained, that they were wolves ; but their immoveable
watchfulness, soon satisfied every one that they were Indians.
It was concluded that they were watching the movements of
the party, to discover their place of concealment of such articles
as they would be compelled to leave behind. There was no
likelihood that the caches would escape the search of such
keen eyes, and experienced rummagers, and the idea was in
tolerable, that any more booty should fall into their hands. To
disappoint them, therefore, the travellers stripped the caches
of the articles deposited there, and collecting together every
thing that they could not carry away with them, made a
bonfire of all that would burn, and threw the rest into the
river. There was a forlorn satisfaction in thus balking the
Crows, by the destruction of their own property ; and, having
thus gratified their pique, they shouldered their packs, about
ten o'clock in the morning, and set out on their pedestrian
wayfaring.

The route they took was down along the banks of Mad

144 A MARCH ON FOOT.

river. This stream makes its way through the defiles of the
mountains, into the plain below fort Henry, where it termi
nates in Snake river. Mr. Stuart was in hopes of meeting
with Snake encampments in the plain, where he might pro
cure a couple of horses to transport the baggage. In such
case, he intended to resume his eastern course across the
mountains, and endeavor to reach the Cheyenne river before
winter. Should he fail, however, of obtaining horses, he
would probably be compelled to winter on the Pacific side
of the mountains, somewhere on the head waters of the Span
ish or Colorado river.

With all the care that had been observed in taking nothing
with them that was not absolutely necessary, the poor pedes
trians were heavily laden, and their burthens added to the
fatigues of their rugged road. They suffered much, too, from
hunger. The trout they caught, were too poor to yield much
nourishment ; their main dependance, therefore, was upon an
old beaver trap, which they had providentially retained. When
ever they were fortunate enough to entrap a beaver, it was
cut up immediately and distributed, that each man might carry
his share.

After two days of toilsome travel, during which they made
but eighteen miles, they stopped on the 21st, to build two rafts
on which to cross to the north side of the river. On these
they embarked, on the following morning, four on one raft,
and three on the other, and pushed boldly from shore. Find
ing the rafts sufficiently firm and steady to withstand the rough
and rapid water, they changed their minds, and instead of
crossing, ventured to float down with the current. The river
was, in general, very rapid, and from one to two hundred
yards in width, winding in every direction through mountains
of hard black rock, covered with pines and cedars. The

RAFTING A RIVER. 145

mountains to the east of the river were spurs of the rocky
range, and of great magnitude ; those on the west, were little
better than hills, bleak and barren, or scantily clothed with
stunted grass.

Mad river, though deserving its name from the impetuosity
of its current, was free from rapids and cascades, and flowed
on in a single channel between gravel 'banks, often fringed
with cotton wood and dwarf willows in abundance. These
gave sustenance to immense quantities of beaver, so that the
voyageurs found no difficulty in procuring food. Ben Jones,
also, killed a fallow deer, and a wolverine, and as they were
enabled to carry the carcasses on their rafts, their larder was
well supplied. Indeed, they might have occasionally shot
beavers that were swimming in the river as they floated by,
but they humanely spared their lives, being in no want of meat
at the time. In this way, they kept down the river for three
days, drifting with the current and encamping on land at night,
when they drew up their rafts on shore. Towards the evening
of the third day, they came to a little island on which they
descried a gang of elk. Ben Jones landed, and was fortunate
enough to wound one, which immediately took to the water,
but, being unable to stem the current, drifted above a mile,
when it was overtaken and drawn to shore. As a storm was
gathering, they now encamped on the margin of the river,
where they remained all the next day, sheltering themselves
as well as they could from rain, and hail, and snow, a sharp
foretaste of the impending winter. During their encampment,
they employed themselves in jerking a part of the elk for
future supply. In cutting up the carcass, they found that the
animal had been wounded by hunters, about a week previously,
an arrow head and a musket ball remaining in the wounds.

In the wilderness, every trivial circumstance is a matter of
VOL. n. 13

146 SIGNS OF BLACKFEET.

anxious speculation. The Snake Indians have no guns ; the
elk, therfore, could not have been wounded by one of them.
They were on the borders of the country infested by the Black-
feet, who carry fire-arms. It was concluded, therefore, that the
elk had been hunted by some of that wandering and hostile
tribe who, of course, must be in the neighborhood. The idea
put an end to the transient solace they had enjoyed in the
comparative repose and abundance of the river.

For three days longer they continued to navigate with their
rafts. The recent storm had rendered the weather extremely
cold. They had now floated down the river about ninety-one
miles, when, finding the mountains on the right, diminished to
to moderate sized hills, they landed, and prepared to resume
their journey on foot. Accordingly, having spent a day in
preparations, making moccasins, and parcelling out their jerked
meat in packs of twenty pounds to each man, they turned
their backs upon the river on the 29th of September and
struck off to the north-east ; keeping along the southern skirt
of the mountain on which Henry's fort was situated.

Their march was slow and toilsome ; part of the time
through an alluvial bottom, thickly grown with cotton wood,
hawthorn and willows, and part of the time over rough hills.
Three antelopes came within shot, but they dared not fire at
them, lest the report of their rifles should betray them to the
Blackfeet. In the course of the day, they came upon a large
horse track apparently about three weeks old, and in the
evening encamped on the banks of a small stream, on a spot
which had been the camping place of this same band.

On the following morning they still observed the Indian
track, but after a time they came to where it separated in
every direction, and was lost. This shewed that the band
had disoersed in various hunting parties, and was, in all proba-

SULPHUR SPRINGS. 147

bility, still in the neighborhood ; it was necessary, therefore,
to proceed with the utmost caution. They kept a vigilant eye
as they marched, upon every height where a scout might be
posted, and scanned the solitary landscape and the distant
ravines, to observe any column of smoke ; but nothing of the
kind was to be seen ; all was indiscribably stern and lifeless.

Towards evening they came to where there were several
hot springs, strongly impregnated with iron and sulphur, and
sending up a volume of vapor that tainted the surrounding
atmosphere, and might be seen at the distance of a couple
of miles.

Near to these they encamped, in a deep gulley, which af
forded some concealment. To their great concern, Mr. Crooks,
who had been indisposed for the two preceding days, had a
violent fever in the night.

Shortly after daybreak they resumed their march. On
emerging from the glen, a consultation was held as to their
course. Should they continue round the skirt of the mountain,
they would be in danger of falling in with the scattered parties
of Blackfeet, who were probably hunting in the plain. It was
thought most advisable, therefore, to strike directly across the
mountain, since the route, though rugged and difficult, would
be most secure. This counsel was indignantly derided by
M'Lellan as pusillanimous. Hot-headed and impatient at all
times, he had been rendered irascible by the fatigues of the
journey, and the condition of his feet, which were chafed and
sore. He could not endure the idea of encountering the diffi
culties of the mountain, and swore he would rather face all the
Blackfeet in the country. He was overruled, however, and
the party began to ascend the mountain, striving, with the
ardor and emulation of young men, who should be first up.
M'Lellan, who was double the age of some of his companions,

148

WILFUL CONDUCT OF M LELLAN.

soon began to lose breath, and fall in the rear. In the distri
bution of burthens, it was his turn to carry the old beaver trap.
Piqued and irritated, he suddenly came to a halt, swore he
would carry it no further, and jirked it half way down the hill.
He was offered in place of it a package of dried meat, but
this he scornfully threw upon the ground. They might carry
it, he said, who needed it, for his part, he could provide his
daily food with his rifle. He concluded by flinging off from
the party, and keeping along the skirts of the mountain, leav
ing those, he said, to climb rocks, who were afraid to face
Indians. It was in vain that Mr. Stuart represented to him
the rashness of his conduct, and the dangers to which he
exposed himself: he rejected such counsel as craven. It was
equally useless to represent the dangers to which he subjected
his companions ; as he could be discovered at a great distance
on those naked plains, and the Indians, seeing him, would
know that there must be other white men within reach.
M'Lellan turned a deaf ear to every remonstrance, and kept
on his wilful way.

It seems a strange instance of perverseness in this man
thus to fling himself off alone, in a savage region, where
solitude itself was dismal, but every encounter with his fellow
man full of peril. Such, however, is the hardness of spirit,
and the insensibility to danger, that grow upon men in the
wilderness. M'Lellan, moreover, was a man of peculiar tem
perament, ungovernable in his will, of a courage that absolutely
knew not fear, and somewhat of a braggart spirit, that took a
pride in doing desperate and hairbrained things.

Mr. Stuart and his party found the passages of the mountain
somewhat difficult, on account of the snow, which in many
places was of considerable depth, though it was now but the
1st of October. They crossed the summit early in the after-

MOUNTAIN PROSPECT VOLCANOES.

noon, and beheld below them a plain about twenty miles wide,
bounded on the opposite side by their old acquaintances, the
Pilot Knobs, those towering mountains which had served Mr.
Hunt as landmarks in part of his route of the preceding year.
Through the intermediate plain wandered a river about fifty
yards wide, sometimes gleaming in open day, but oftener run
ning through willowed banks, which marked its serpentine
course.

Those of the party who had been across these mountains,
pointed out much of the bearings of the country to Mr. Stuart.
They shewed him in what direction must lie the deserted post
called Henry's fort, where they had abandoned their horses and
embarked in canoes, and they informed him that the stream
which wandered through the plain helow them, fell into Henry
river, half way between the fort and the mouth of Mad or
Snake river. The character of all this mountain region was
decidedly volcanic ; and to the north-west, between Henry's
fort and the source of the Missouri, Mr. Stuart observed
several very high peaks covered with snow, from two of which
smoke ascended in considerable volumes, apparently from
craters, in a state of eruption.

On their way down the mountain, when they had reached
the skirts, they descried M'Lellan at a distance, in the ad
vance, traversing the plain. Whether he saw them or not, he
showed no disposition to rejoin them, but pursued his sullen
and solitary way.

After descending into the plain, they kept on about six
miles, until they reached the little river, which was here about
knee deep, and richly fringed with willow. Here they en
camped for the night. At this encampment the fever of Mr.
Crooks increased to such a degree that it was impossible for

him to travel. Some of the men were strenuous for Mr.

13*

160 HUMANE RESOLUTION.

Stuart to proceed without him, urging the imminent danger
they were exposed to by delay in that unknown and barren
region, infested by the most treacherous and inveterate of foes.
They represented that the season was rapidly advancing ; the
weather for some days had been extremely cold ; the mountains
were already almost impassable from snow, and would soon
present effectual barriers. Their provisions were exhausted ;
there was no game to be seen, and they did not dare to use
their rifles, through fear of drawing upon them the Blackfeet.

The picture thus presented, was too true to be contradicted,
and made a deep impression on the mind of Mr. Stuart ; but
the idea of abandoning a fellow being, and a comrade, in such
a forlorn situation, was too repugnant to his feelings to be
admitted for an instant. He represented to the men that the
malady of Mr. Crooks could not be of long duration, and that
in all probability, he would be able to travel in the course of a
few days. It was with great difficulty, however, that he pre
vailed upon them to abide the event.

BEN JONES AND A GRIZZLY BEAR. 151

CHAPTER XVII.

BEN JONES AND A GRIZZLY BEAR — ROCKY HEIGHTS — MOUNTAIN TORRENTS
— TRACES OF M'LELLAN — VOLCANIC REMAINS — MINERAL EARTHS — PECU
LIAR CLAY FOR POTTERY DISMAL PLIGHT OF M'LELLAN STARVATION

SHOCKING PROPOSITION OF A DESPERATE MAN A BROKEN DOWN BULL

A RAVENOUS MEAL INDIAN GRAVES HOSPITABLE SNAKES — A FORLORN

ALLIANCE.

As the travellers were now in a dangerous neighborhood, where
the report of a rifle might bring the savages upon them, they
had to depend upon their old beaver trap for subsistence. The
little river on which they were encamped gave many " beaver
signs," and Ben Jones set off at daybreak, along the willowed
banks, to find a proper trapping place. As he was making his
way among the thickets, with his trap on his shoulder and his
rifle in his hand, he heard a crashing sound, and turning, be
held a huge grizzly bear advancing upon him, with terrific
growl. The sturdy Kentuckian was not to be intimidated by
jnan or monster. Levelling his rifle, he pulled trigger. The
bear was wounded, but not mortally: instead, however, of
rushing upon his assailant, as is generally the case with this
kind of bear, he retreated into the bushes. Jones followed
him for some distance, but with suitable caution, and Bruin
effected his escape.

As there was every prospect of a detention of some days in
this place, and as the supplies of the beaver trap were too

152 SUCCESSFUL HUNTING.

precarious to be depended upon, it became absolutely neces
sary to run some risk of discovery by hunting in the neighbor
hood. Ben Jones, therefore, obtained permission to range
with his rifle some distance from the camp, and set off to beat
up the river banks, in defiance of bear or Blackfeet.

He returned in great spirits in the course of a few hours,
having come upon a gang of elk about six miles off, and
killed five. This was joyful news, and the party imme
diately moved forward to the place where he had left the
carcases. They were obliged to support Mr. Crooks the
whole distance, for he was unable to walk. Here they re
mained for two or three days, feasting heartily on elk meat,
and drying as much as they would be able to carry away with
them.

By the 5th of October, some simple prescriptions, together
with an " Indian sweat," had so far benefited Mr. Crooks,
that he was enabled to move about ; they, therefore, set for
ward slowly, dividing his pack and accoutrements among them,
and made a creeping day's progress of eight miles south.
Their route for the most part lay through swamps, caused by
the industrious labors of the beaver ; for this little animal had
dammed up numerous small streams, issuing from the Pilot
Knob mountains, so that the low grounds on their borders,
were completely inundated. In the course of their march
they killed a grizzly bear, with fat on its flanks upwards of
three inches in thickness. This was an acceptable addition
to their stock of elk meat. The next day, Mr. Crooks was
sufficiently recruited in strength to be able to carry his rifle
and pistols, and they made a march of seventeen miles along
the borders of the plain.

Their journey daily became more toilsome, and their suffer
ings more severe, as they advanced. Keeping up the channel

SCANTY FARE. 153

of a river, they traversed the rugged summit of the Pilot Knob
mountain, covered with snow nine inches deep. For several
days they continued, bending their course as much as possible
to the east, over a succession of rocky heights, deep valleys,
and rapid streams. Sometimes their dizzy path lay along
the margin of perpendicular precipices, several hundred feet
in height, where a single false step might precipitate them
into the rocky bed of a torrent which roared below. Not the
least part of their weary task was the fording of the numerous
windings and branchings of the mountain rivers, all boisterous
in their currents, and icy cold.

Hunger was added to their other sufferings, and soon be
came the keenest. The small supply of bear and elk meat
which they had been able to carry, in addition to their previous
burthens, served but for a very short time. In their anxiety to
struggle forward, they had but little time to hunt, and scarce
any game came in their path. For three days they had nothing
to eat but a small duck, and a few poor trout. They occa
sionally saw numbers of antelopes, and tried every art to get
within shot ; but the timid animals were more than commonly
wild, and after tantalizing the hungry hunters for a time,
bounded away beyond all chance of pursuit. At length they
were fortunate enough to kill one : it was extremely meagre,
and yielded but a scanty supply ; but on this they subsisted for
several days.

On the llth, they encamped on a small stream, near the foot
of the Spanish river mountain. Here they met with traces
of that wayward and solitary being, M'Lellan, who was still
keeping on ahead of them through these lonely mountains.
He had encamped the night before on this stream-; they found
the embers of the fire by which he had slept, and the remains
of a miserable wolf on which he had supped. It was evident

154 STARVATION.

he had suffered, like themselves, the pangs of hunger, though
he had fared better at this encampment ; for they had not a
mouthful to eat.

The next day, they rose hungry and alert, and set out with
the dawn to climb the mountain, which was steep and difficult.
Traces of volcanic operations were to be seen in various
directions. There was a species of clay also to be met with,
out of which the Indians manufacture pots and jars and dishes.
It is very fine and light, of an agreeable smell, and of a brown
color spotted with yellow, and dissolves readily in the mouth.
Vessels manufactured of it, are said to impart a pleasant smell
and flavor to any liquids. These mountains abound also with
mineral earths, or chalks of various colors ; especially two
kinds of ochre, one a pale, the other a bright red, like vermi
lion ; much used by the Indians, in painting their bodies.

About noon, the travellers reached the " drains " and brooks
that formed the head waters of the river, and later in the day,
descended to where the main body, a shallow stream, about a
hundred and sixty yards wide, poured through its mountain
valley.

Here the poor famishing wanderers had expected to find
buffalo in abundance, and had fed their hungry hopes during
their scrambling toil, with the thoughts of roasted ribs, juicy
humps, and broiled marrow bones. To their great disappoint
ment, the river banks were deserted ; a few old tracks, showed
where a herd of bulls had some time before passed along, but
not a horn nor hump was to be seen in the sterile landscape.
A few antelopes looked down upon them from the brow of a
crag, but flitted away out of sight at the least approach of the
hunter.

In the most starving mood they kept for several miles fur
ther, along the bank of the river, seeking for " beaver signs."

DISTRESS OF M?LELLAN. 155

Finding some, they encamped in the vicinity, and Ben Jones
immediately proceeded to set the trap. They had scarce
come to a halt, when they perceived a large smoke at some
distance to the southwest. The sight was hailed with joy, for
they trusted it might rise from some Indian camp, where they
could procure something to eat, and the dread of starvation
had now overcome even the terror of the Blackfeet. Le Clerc,
one of the Canadians, was instantly despatched by Mr. Stuart,
to reconnoitre ; and the travellers sat up till a late hour, watch
ing and listening for his return, hoping he might bring them
food. Midnight arrived, but Le Clerc did not make his ap
pearance, and they laid down once more supperless to sleep,
comforting themselves with the hopes that their old beaver
trap might furnish them with a breakfast.

At daybreak they hastened with famished eagerness to the
trap — they found in it the fore paw of a beaver ; the sight of
which tantalized their hunger, and added to their dejection.
They resumed their journey with flagging spirits, but had not
gone far when they perceived Le Clerc approaching at a dis
tance. They hastened to meet him, in hopes of tidings of
good cheer. He had none such to give them ; but news df
that strange wanderer, M'Lellan. The smoke had risen from
his encampment, which took fire while he was at a little dis
tance from it fishing. Le Clerc found him in forlorn condi
tion. His fishing had been unsuccessful. During twelve
days that he had been wandering alone through these savage
mountains, he had found scarce any thing to eat. He had
been ill, wayworn, sick at heart, still he had kept forward ;
but now his strength and his stubbornness were exhausted.
He expressed his satisfaction at hearing that Mr. Stuart and
his party were near, and said he would wait at his camp for
their arrival, in hopes they would give him something to eat,

156 M'LELLAN IN EXTREMITY.

for without food he declared he should not be able to proceed
much further.

When the party reached the place, they found the poor
fellow lying on a parcel of. withered grass, wasted to a perfect
skeleton, and so feeble that he could scarce raise his head or
speak. The presence of his old comrades seemed to revive
him ; but they had no food to give him, for they themselves
were almost starving. They urged him to rise and accompany
them, but he shook his head. It was all jn vain, he said ;
there was no prospect of their getting speedy relief, and with
out it he should perish by the way : he might as well, there
fore, stay and die where he was. At length, after much per
suasion, they got him upon his legs ; his rifle and other effects
were shared among them, and he was ' cheered and aided
forward. In this way they proceeded for seventeen miles,
over a level plain of sand, until, seeing a few antelopes in the
distance, they encamped on the margin of a small stream. All
now that were capable of the exertion, turned out to hunt
for a meal. Their efforts were fruitless, and after dark they
returned to their camp, famished almost to desperation.

As they were preparing for the third time to lay down to
sleep without a mouthful to eat, Le Clerc, one of the Cana
dians, gaunt and wild with hunger, apprbached Mr. Stuart with
his gun in his hand. " It was all in vain," he said, " to at
tempt to proceed any further without food. They had a barren
plain before them, three or four days' journey in extent, on
which nothing was to be procured. They must all perish
before they could get to the end of it. It was better, therefore,
that one should die to save the rest." He proposed, therefore,
that they should cast lots ; adding, as an inducement for Mr.
Stuart to assent to the proposition, that he, as leader of the
party, should be exempted.

THE RUN-DOWN BUFFALO BULL. 157

Mr. Stuart shuddered at the horrible proposition, and endea
vored to reason with the man, but his words were unavailing.
At length, snatching up his rifle, he threatened to shoot him
on the spot if he persisted. The famished wretch dropped on
his knees, begged pardon in the most abject terms, and pro
mised never again to offend him with such a suggestion.

Quiet being restored to the forlorn encampment, each one
sought repose. Mr. Stuart, however, was so exhausted by the
agitation of the past scene, acting upon his emaciated frame,
that he could scarce crawl to his miserable couch; where,
notwithstanding his fatigues, he passed a sleepless night, re
volving upon their dreary situation, and the desperate prospect
before them.

Before daylight the next morning, they were up and on their
way ; they had nothing to detain them ; no breakfast to pre
pare, and to linger was to perish. They proceeded, however,
but slowly, for all were faint and weak. Here and there they
passed the sculls and bones of buffaloes, which showed that
those animals must have been hunted here during the past
season ; the sight of these bones served only to mock their
misery. After travelling about nine miles along the plain,
they ascended a range of hills, and had scarcely gone two
miles further, when, to their great joy, they discovered " an
old run-down buffalo bull ;" the laggard probably of some herd
that had been hunted and harassed through the mountains.
They now all stretched themselves out to encompass and
make sure^of this solitary animal, for their lives depended
upon their success. After considerable trouble and infinite
anxiety, they at length succeeded in killing him. He was
instantly flayed and cut up, and so ravenous was their hunger,
that they devoured some of the flesh raw. The residue they

VOL. II. 14

158 TRACES OF INDIAN HUNTERS.

carried to a brook near by, where they encamped, lit a fire,
and began to cook.

Mr. Stuart was fearful that in their famished state they
would eat to excess and injure themselves. He caused a
soup to be made of some of the meat, and that each should
take a quantity of it as a prelude to his supper. This may
have had a beneficial effect, for though they sat up the greater
part of the night, cooking, and cramming, no one suffered any
iuconvenience.

The next morning the feasting was resumed, and about mid
day, feeling somewhat recruited and refreshed, they set out on
their journey with renovated spirits, shaping their course to
wards a mountain, the summit of which they saw towering in
the east, and near to which they expected to find the head
waters of the Missouri.

As they proceeded, they continued to see the skeletons of
buffaloes scattered about the plain in every direction, which
showed that there had been much hunting here by the Indians
in the recent season. Further on they crossed a large Indian
trail, forming a deep path, about fifteen days old, which went
in a north direction. They concluded it to have been made
by some numerous band of Crows, who had hunted in this
country for the greater part of the summer.

On the following day they forded a stream of considerable
magnitude, with banks clothed with pine trees. Among these
they found the traces of a large Indian camp, which had
evidently been the head quarters of a hunting expedition, from
the great quantities of buffalo bones strewed about the neigh
borhood. The camp had apparently been abandoned about a
month.

In the centre was a singular lodge one hundred and fifty
feet in circumference, supported by the trunks of twenty trees,

INDIAN SEPULCHRE. 159

about twelve inches in diameter, and forty-four feet long.
Across these were laid branches of pine and willow trees, so
as to yield a tolerable shade. At the west end, immediately
opposite to the door, three bodies lay interred with their feet
towards the east. At the head of each grave was a branch of
red cedar firmly planted in the ground. At the foot was a
large buffalo's scull, painted ^ black. Savage ornaments were
suspended in various parts of the edifice, and a great number
of children's moccasins. From the magnitude of this building,
and the time and labor that must have been expended in erect
ing it, the bodies which it contained were probably those of
noted warriors and hunters.

The next day, October 17th, they passed two large tributary
streams of the Spanish river. They took their rise in the
Wind river mountains, which ranged along to the east, stu
pendously high and rugged, composed of vast masses of black
rock, almost destitute of wood, and covered in many places
with snow. This day they saw a few buffalo bulls, and some
antelopes, but could not kill any ; and their stock of provisions
began to grow scanty as well as poor.

On the 18th, after crossing a mountain ridge, and traversing
a plain, they waded one of the branches of Spanish river, .and
on ascending its bank, met with about a hundred and thirty
Snake Indians. They were friendly in their demeanor, and
conducted them to their encampment, which was about three
miles distant. It consisted of about forty wigwams, con
structed principally of pine branches. The Snakes, like most
of their nation, were very poor ; the marauding Crows, in their
late excursion through the country, had picked this unlucky
band to the very bone, carrying off their horses, several of
their squaws, and most of their effects. In spite of their
poverty, they were hospitable in the extreme, and made the

160 THE FORLORN ALLIANCE.

hungry strangers welcome to their cabins. A few trinkets
procured from them a supply of buffalo meat, and of leather
for moccasins, of which the party were greatly in need. The
most valuable prize obtained from them, however, was a horse :
it was a sorry old animal in truth, but it was the only one that
remained to the poor fellows, after the fell swoop of the Crows ;
yet this they were prevailed upon to part with to their guests
for a pistol, an axe, a knife, and a few other trifling articles.

They had doleful stories to tell of the Crows, who were
encamped on a river at no great distance to the east, and were
in such force that they dared not venture to seek any satisfac
tion for their outrages, or to get back a horse or squaw. They
endeavored to excite the indignation of their visitors by ac
counts of robberies and murders committed on lonely white
hunters and trappers by Crows and Blackfeet. Some of these
were exaggerations of the outrages already mentioned, sus
tained by some of the scattered members of Mr. Hunt's expe
dition ; others were in all probability sheer fabrications, to
which the Snakes seem to have been a little prone. Mr.
Stuart assured them that the day was not far distant when the
whites would make their power to be felt throughout that
country, and take signal vengeance on the perpetrators of these
misdeeds. The Snakes expressed great joy at the intelligence,
and offered their services to aid the righteous cause, bright
ening at the thoughts of taking the field with such potent allies,
and doubtless anticipating their turn at stealing horses and
abducting squaws. Their offers of course were accepted ; the
calumet of peace was produced, and the two forlorn powers
smoked eternal friendship between themselves, and vengeance
upon their common spoilers, the Crows.

SPANISH RIVER. 161

CHAPTER XVIII.

SPANISH RIVER SCENERY — TRAIL OF CROW INDIANS — A SNOW STORM — A

ROUSING FIRE AND A BUFFALO FEAST A PLAIN OF SALT CLIMBING A

MOUNTAIN VOLCANIC SUMMIT EXTINGUISHED CRATER MARINE SHELLS

ENCAMPMENT ON A" PRAIRIE — SUCCESSFUL HUNTING GOOD CHEER

ROMANTIC SCENERY ROCKY DEFILE FOAMING RAPIDS THE FIERY

NARROWS.

I

BY sunrise on the following morning, (October 19th,) the
travellers had loaded their old horse with buffalo meat, suf
ficient for five day's provisions, and, taking leave of their new
allies, the poor, but hospitable Snakes, set forth in somewhat
better spirits, though the increasing cold of the weather, and
the sight of the snowy mountains, which they had yet to
traverse, were enough to chill their very hearts. The country
along this branch of the Spanish river, as far as they could
see, was perfectly level, bounded by ranges of lofty mountains,
both to the east and west. They proceeded about three miles
to the south, where they came again upon the large trail of
Crow Indians, which they had crossed four day's previously,
made, no doubt, by the same marauding band that had plun
dered the Snakes ; and which, according to the account of the
latter, was now encamped on a stream to the eastward. The
trail kept on to the south-east, and was so well beaten by horse
and foot, that they supposed at least a hundred lodges had

passed along it. As it formed, therefore, a convenient high"

14* '

162 BAD WEATHER AND GOOD CHEER.

way, and ran in a proper direction, they turned into it, and
determined to keep along it as far as safety would permit ;
as the Crow encampment must be some distance off, and it was
not likely those savages would return upon their steps. They
travelled forward, therefore, all that day, in the track of their
dangerous predecessors, which led them across mountain
streams, and along ridges, and through narrow valleys, all
tending generally towards the south-east. The wind blew
coldly from the north-east, with occasional flurries of snow,
which made them encamp early, on the sheltered banks of a
brook. The two Canadians, Vallee and Le Clerc, killed a
young buffalo bull in the evening, which was in good condi
tion, and afforded them a plentiful supply of fresh beef. They
loaded their spits, therefore, and crammed their camp kettle
with meat, and while the wind whistled, and the snow whirled
around them, huddled round a rousing fire, basked in its
warmth, and comforted both soul and body with a hearty and
invigorating meal. No enjoyments have greater zest than
these, snatched in the very midst of difficulty and danger ;
and it is probable the poor way-worn and weather-beaten
travellers relished these creature comforts the more highly,
from the surrounding desolation, and the dangerous proximity
of the Crows.

The snow which had fallen in the night made it late in the
morning before the party loaded their solitary pack-horse, and
resumed their march. They had not gone far before the
Crow trace which they were following, changed its direction,
and bore to the north of east. They had already begun to
feel themselves on dangerous ground, in keeping along it, as
they might be descried by some scouts and spies of that race of
Ishmaelites, whose predatory life required them to be constantly
on the alert. On seeing the trace turn so much to the north,

A SALT PLAIN. 163

therefore, they abandoned it, and kept on their course to the
south-east, for eighteen miles, through a beautifully undulating
country, having the main chain of mountains on the left, and
a considerably elevated ridge on the right. Here the mountain
ridge which divides Wind river from the head waters of the
Columbia and Spanish rivers, ends abruptly, and winding to the
north of east, becomes the dividing barrier between a branch
of the Bighorn and Cheyenne rivers, and those head waters
which flow into the Missouri, below the Sioux country.

The ridge which lay on the right of the travellers having
now become very low, they passed over it, and came into a
level plain, about ten miles in circumference, and encrusted
to the depth of a foot or eighteen inches with salt as white as
snow. This is furnished by numerous salt springs of limpid
water, which are continually welling up, overflowing their
borders, and forming beautiful crystallizations. The Indian
tribes of the interior are excessively fond of this salt, and
repair to the valley to collect it, but it is held in distaste by
the tribes of the sea coast, who will eat nothing that has been
cured or seasoned by it.

This evening they encamped on the banks of a small stream,
in the open prairie. The north-east wind was keen and cut
ting ; they had nothing wherewith to make a fire, but a scanty
growth of sage, or wormwood, and were fain to wrap them
selves up in their blankets, and huddle themselves in their
" nests," at an early hour. In the course of the evening,
Mr. M'Lellan, who had now regained his strength, killed a
buffalo, but it was some distance from the camp, and they
postponed supplying themselves from the carcass until the
following morning.

The next day, (October 21st,) the cold continued, adcompa-
nied by snow. They set forward on their bleak and toilsome

164 AN EXTINGUISHED VOLCANO.

way, keeping to the east north-east, towards the lofty summit of
a mountain, which it was necessary for them to cross. Before
they reached its base they passed another large trail, steering
a little to the right of the point of the mountain. This they
presumed to have been made by another band of Crows, who
had probably been hunting lower down on the Spanish river.

The severity of the weather compelled them to encamp at
the end of fifteen miles, oil the skirts of the mountain, where
they found sufficient dry aspen trees to supply them with fire,
but they sought in vain about the neighborhood for a spring or
rill of water.

At daybreak they were up and on the march, scrambling up
the mountain side for the distance of eight painful miles.
From the casual hints given in the travelling memoranda of
Mr. Stuart, this mountain would seem to offer a rich field
of speculation for the geologist. Here was a plain three miles
in diameter, strewed with pumice stones and other volcanic
reliques, with a lake in the centre, occupying what had proba
bly been the crater. Here were also, in some places, deposites
of marine shells, indicating that this mountain crest had at
some remote period been below the waves.

After pausing to repose, and to enjoy these grand but savage
and awful scenes, they began to descend the eastern side
of the mountain. The descent was rugged and romantic,
along deep ravines and defiles, overhung with crags and cliffs,
among which they beheld numbers of the ahsahta or bighorn,
skipping fearlessly from rock to rock. Two of them they
succeeded in bringing down with their rifles, as they peered
fearlessly from the brow of their airy precipices.

Arrived at the foot of the mountain, the travellers found a
rill of water oozing out of the earth, and resembling in look
and taste, the water of the Missouri. Here they encamped for

WINTRY PLAINS. 165

the night, and supped sumptuously upon their mountain mutton,
which they found in good condition, and extremely well tasted.

The morning was bright, and intensely cold. Early in the
day they came upon a stream running to the east, between
low hills of bluish earth, strongly impregnated with copperas.
Mr. Stuart supposed this to be one of the head waters of the
Missouri, and determined to follow its banks. After a march
of twenty-six miles, however, he arrived at the summit of a
hill, the prospect of which induced him to alter his inten
tion. He beheld, in every direction south of east, a vast plain,
bounded only by the horizon, through which wandered the
stream in question, in a south, south-east direction. It could
not, therefore, be a branch of the Missouri. He now gave up
all idea of taking the stream for his guide, and shaped his
course towards a range of mountains in the east, about sixty
miles distant, near which he hoped to find another stream.

The weather was now so severe, and the hardships of
travelling so great, that he resolved to halt for the winter, at
the first eligible place. That night they had to encamp on
the open prairie, near a scanty pool of water, and without any
wood to make a fire. The north-east wind blew keenly across
the naked waste, and they were fain to decamp from their
inhospitable bivouac before the dawn.

For two days they kept on in an eastward direction, against
wintry blasts and occasional snow storms. They suffered,
also, from scarcity of water, having occasionally to use melted
snow ; this, with the want of pasturage, reduced their old
pack horse sadly. They saw many tracks of buffalo, and
some few bulls, which, however, got the wind of them, and
scampered oft'.

On the 26th of October, they steered east-north-east, for a
wooded ravine, in a mountain at a small distance from the base

166 NORTH FORK OF THE PLATTE RIVER.

of which, to their great joy? they discovered an abundant
stream, running between willowed banks. . Here they halted
for the night, and Ben Jones having luckily trapped a beaver,
and killed two buffalo bulls, they remained all the next day
encamped, feasting and reposing, and allowing their jaded
horse to rest from his labors.

The little stream on which they were encamped, was one
of the head waters of the Platte river, which flows into the
Missouri ; it was in fact, the northern fork, or branch of that
river, though this the travellers did not discover until long
afterwards. Pursuing the course of this stream for about
twenty miles, they came to where it forced a passage through
a range of high hills, covered with cedars, into an extensive
low country, affording excellent pasture to numerous herds
of buffalo. Here they killed three cows, which were the first
they had been able to get, having hitherto had to content them-
selver with bull beef, which at this season Of the year is
very poor. The hump meat afforded them a repast fit for an
epicure.

Late on the afternoon of the 30th, they came to where the
stream, now increased to a considerable size, poured along in
a ravine between precipices of red stone, two hundred feet in
height. For some distance it dashed along, over huge masses
of rock, with foaming violence, as if exasperated by being
compressed into so narrow a channel, and at length leaped
down a chasm that looked dark and frightful in the gathering
twilight.

For a part of the next day, the wild river, in its capricious
wanderings, led them through a variety of striking scenes.
At one time they were upon high plains, like platforms among
the mountains, with herds of buffaloes roaming about them ;
at another, among rude rocky defiles, broken into cliffs and

THE FIERY NARROWS. 167

precipices, wh«re the black-tailed deer bounded off among
the crags, and the bighorn basked in the sunny brow of the
precipice.

In the after part of the day, they came to another scene,
surpassing in savage grandeur those already described. They
had been travelling for some distance through a pass of the
mountains, keeping parallel with the river, as it roared along,
out of sight, through a deep ravine. Sometimes their devious
path approached the margin of cliffs below which the river
foamed, and boiled and whirled among the masses of rock
that had fallen into its channel. As they crept cautiously on,
leading their solitary pack horse along these giddy heights,
they all at once came to where the river thundered down a
succession of precipices, throwing up clouds of spray, and
making a prodigious din and uproar. The travellers remained,
for a time, gazing with mingled aAve and delight, at this furious
cataract, to which Mr. Stuart gave, from the color of the
impending rocks, the name of " the Fiery Narrows."

168 A HALT AND COUNCIL.

CHAPTER XIX.

WINTRY STORMS — A HALT AND COUNCIL — CANTONMENT FOR THE WINTEK
FINE HUNTING COUNTRY GAME OF THE MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS

SUCCESSFUL HUNTING MR. CROOKS AND A GRIZZLY BEAR THE WIG
WAM BIGHORN AND BLACKTAILS BEEF AND VENISON GOOD QUARTERS

AND GOOD CHEER AN ALARM — AN INTRUSION UNWELCOME GUESTS

DESOLATION OF THE LARDER— GORMANDISING EXPLOITS OF HUNGRV
SAVAGES GOOD QUARTERS ABANDONED.

THE travellers encamped for the night on the banks of the
river, below the cataract.. The night was cold, with partial
showers of rain and sleet. The morning dawned gloomily,
the skies were sullen and overcast, and threatened further
storms ; but the little band resumed their journey, in defiance
of the weather. The increasing rigor of the season, however,
which makes itself felt early in these mountainous regions,
and on these naked and elevated plains, brought them to a
pause, and a serious deliberation, after they had descended
about thirty miles further along the course of the river.

All were convinced that it was vain to attempt to accom
plish their journey on foot, at this inclement season. They
had still many hundred miles to traverse before they should
reach the main course of the Missouri, and their route would
lay over immense prairies, naked and bleak, and destitute of
fuel. The question then was, where to choose their wintering
place, and whether or not to proceed further down the river.

A WINTERING PLACE. 169

They had at first imagined it to be one of the head waters,
or tributary streams, of the Missouri. Afterwards they had
believed it to be Rapid, or Quicourt river, in which opinion
they had not come nearer to the truth ; they now, however,
were persuaded, with equal fallacy, by its inclining somewhat
to the north of east, that it was the Cheyenne. If so, by con
tinuing down it much further they must arrive among the
Indians, from whom the river takes its name. Among these
they would be sure to meet some of the Sioux tribe. These
would apprize their relatives, the piratical Sioux of the Mis
souri, of the approach of a band of white traders ; so that,
in the spring time, they would be likely to be waylaid and
robbed on their way down the river, by some party in ambush
upon its banks.

Even should this prove to be the Quicourt or Rapid river,
it would not be prudent to winter much further down upon its
banks, as though they might be out of the range of the Sioux,
they would be in the neighborhood of the Poncas, a tribe
nearly as dangerous. It was resolved, therefore, since they
must winter somewhere on this side of the Missouri, to
descend no lower, but to keep up in these solitary regions,
where they would be in no danger of molestation.

They were brought the more promptly and unanimously to
this decision, by coming upon an excellent wintering place,
that promised every thing requisite for their comfort. It was
on a fine bend of the river, just below where it issued out from
among a ridge of mountains, and bent towards the north-east.
Here was a beautiful low point of land, covered by cotton-
wood, and surrounded by a thick growth of willow, so as to
yield both shelter and fuel, as well as materials for building.
The river swept by in a strong current, about a hundred and
fifty yards wide. To the south-east were mountains of mod-

VOL. II. 15

170 BEARS, BIGHORNS, AND BLACK-TAILED DEER.

erate height, the nearest about two miles off, but the whole
chain ranging to the east, south, and south-west, as far as the
eye could reach. Their summits were crowned with exten
sive tracts of pitch pine, chequered with small patches of the
quivering aspen. Lower down were thick forests of firs and
red cedars, growing out in many places from the very fissures
of the rocks. The mountains were broken and precipitous,
with huge bluffs protruding from among the forests. Their
rocky recesses, and beetling cliffs, afforded retreats to innu
merable flocks of the bighorn, while their woody summits and
ravines abounded with bears, and black-tailed deer. These,
with the numerous herds of buffalo that ranged the lower
grounds along the river, promised the travellers abundant cheer
in their winter quarters.

On the 2d of November, therefore, they pitched their camp
for the winter, on the woody point, and their first thought was,
to obtain a supply of provisions. Ben Jones and the two Ca
nadians accordingly sallied forth, accompanied by two others
of the party, leaving but one to watch the camp. Their hunt
ing was uncommonly successful. In the course of two days,
they killed thirty-two buffaloes, and collected their meat on the
margin of a small brook, about a mile distant. Fortunately,
a severe frost froze the river, so that the meat was easily
transported to the encampment. On a succeeding day, a herd
of buffalo came trampling through the woody bottom on the
river banks, and fifteen more were killed.

It was soon discovered, however, that there was game of a
more dangerous nature in the neighborhood. On one occasion,
Mr. Crooks had wandered about a mile from the camp, and
had ascended a small hill commanding a view of the river.
He was without his rifle, a rare circumstance, for in these wild
regions, where one may put up a wild animal, or a wild Indian,

MR. CROOKS AND A GRIZZLY BEAR. 171

at every turn, it is customary never to stir from the camp-fire
unarmed. The hill where he stood overlooked the place
where the massacre of the buffalo had taken place. As he
was looking around on the prospect, his eye was caught by
an object below, moving directly towards him. To his dis
may, he discovered it to be a grizzly bear, with two cubs.
There was no tree at hand into which he could climb ; to run,
would only be to provoke pursuit, and he should soon be over
taken. He threw himself on the ground, therefore, and lay
motionless, watching the movements of the animal with intense
anxiety. It continued to advance until at the foot of the hill,
where it turned, and made into the woods, having probably
gorged itself with buffalo flesh. Mr. Crooks made all haste
back to the camp, rejoicing at his escape, and determining
never to stir out again without his rifle. A few days after this
circumstance, a grizzly bear was shot in the neighborhood, by
Mr. Miller.

As the slaughter of so many buffaloes had provided the
party with beef for the winter, in case they met with no
further supply, they now set to work, heart and hand, to build
a comfortable wigwam. In a little while the woody promon
tory rang with the unwonted sound of the axe. Some of its
lofty trees were laid low, and by the second evening the cabin
was complete. It was eight feet wide, and eighteen feet long.
The walls were six feet high, and the whole was covered with
buffalo skins. The fire-place was in the centre, and the smoke
found its way out by a hole in the roof.

The hunters were next sent out to procure deer-skins for
garments, moccasins, and other purposes. They made the
mountains echo with their rifles, and, in the course of two
day's hunting, killed twenty-eight bighorns and black-tailed
deer.

172 COMFORTABLE QUARTERS.

The party now revelled in abundance. After all that they
had suffered from hunger, cold, fatigue and watchfulness ; after
all their perils from treacherous and savage men, they exulted
in the snugness and security of their isolated cabin, hidden, as
they thought, even from the prying eyes of Indian scouts,
and stored with creature comforts ; and they looked forward
to a winter of peace and quietness ; of roasting, and boiling,
and broiling, and feasting upon venison, and mountain mutton,
and bear's meat, and marrow bones, and buffalo humps, and
other hunter's dainties, and of dosing and reposing round their
fire, and gossipping over past dangers and adventures, and
telling long hunting stories, until spring should return ; when
they would make canoes of buffalo skins, and float themselves
down the river.

From such halcyon dreams, they were startled one morning,
at daybreak, by a savage yelp. They started up and seized
their rifles. The yelp was repeated by two or three voices.
Cautiously peeping out, they beheld, to their dismay, several
Indian warriors among the trees, all armed and painted in
warlike style ; being evidently bent on some hostile purpose.

Miller changed countenance as he regarded them. "We
are in trouble," said he, "these are some of the rascally
Arapahays that robbed me last year." Not a word was uttered
by the rest of the party, but they silently slung their powder
horns and ball pouches, and prepared for battle. M'Lellan,
who had taken his gun to pieces the evening before, put it
together in all haste. He proposed that they should break
out the clay from between the logs, so as to be able to fire
upon the enemy.

" Not yet," replied Stuart ; " it will not do to show fear or
distrust ; we must first hold a parley. Some one must go out
and meet them as a friend."

UNWELCOME VISITERS. 173

Who was to undertake the task ! it was full of peril, as the
envoy might be shot down at the threshold.

" The leader of a party," said Miller, " always takes the
advance."

"Good!" replied Stuart; "I am ready." He immediately
went forth ; one of the Canadians followed him ; the rest of
the party remained in garrison, to keep the savages in check.

Stuart advanced holding his rifle in one hand, and extending
the other to the savage that appeared to be the chief. The
latter stepped forward and took it ; his men followed his ex
ample, and all shook hands with Stuart, in token of friendship.
They now explained their errand. They were a war party
of Arapahay braves. Their village lay on a stream several
day's journey to the eastward. It had been attacked and
ravaged during their absence, by a band of Crows, who had
carried off several of their women, and most of their horses.
They were in quest of vengeance. For sixteen days they
had been tracking the Crows about the mountains, but had
not yet come upon them. In the mean time they had met
with scarcely any game, and were half famished. About two
days previously, they had heard the report of fire-arms among
the mountains, and on searching in the direction of the sound,
had come to a place where a deer had been killed. They
had immediately put themselves upon the track of the hunters,
and by following it up, had arrived at the cabin.

Mr. Stuart now invited the chief and another, who appeared
to be his lieutenant, into the hut, but made signs that no one
else was to enter. The rest halted at the door ; others came
straggling up, until the whole party, to the number of twenty-
three, were gathered before the hut. They were armed with
bows and arrows, tomahawks and scalping knives, and some

few with guns. All were painted and dressed for war, and

15*

174 INDIAN GORMANDIZING.

had a wild and fierce appearance. Mr. Miller recognised
among them some of the very fellows who had robbed him in
the preceding year ; and put his comrades upon their guard.
Every man stood ready to resist the first act of hostility ; the
savages, however, conducted themselves peaceably, and showed
none of that swaggering arrogance which a war party is apt
to assume.

On entering the hut the chief and his lieutenant cast a wilful
look at the rafters, laden with venison and buffalo meat. Mr.
Stuart made a merit of necessity, and invited them to help
themselves. They did not wait to be pressed. The rafters
were soon eased of their burthen ; venison and beef were passed
out to the crew before the door, and a scene of gormandizing
commenced, of which few can have an idea, who have not
witnessed the gastronomic powers of an Indian, after an in
terval of fasting. This was kept up throughout the day ; they
paused now and then, it is true, for a brief interval, but only
to return to the charge with renewed ardor. The chief and
the lieutenant surpassed all the rest in the vigor and perse
verance of their attacks ; as if, from their station they were
bound to signalize themselves in all onslaughts. Mr. Stuart
kept them well supplied with choice bits, for it was his policy
to over-feed them, and keep them from leaving the hut, where
they served as hostages for the good conduct of their followers.
Once, only, in the course of the day, did the chief sally forth.
Mr. Stuart and one of the men accompanied him, armed with
their rifles, but without betraying any distrust. The chieftain
soon returned, and renewed his attack upon the larder. In a
word, he and his worthy coadjutor, the lieutenant, ate until
they were both stupified.

Towards evening the Indians made their preparations for
the night according to the practice of war parties. Those

INDIAN GORMANDIZING. 175

outside of the hut threw up two breast works, into which they
retired at a tolerably early hour, and slept like over-fed hounds.
As to the chief and his lieutenant, they passed the night in
the hut, in the course of which, they, two or three times, got
up to eat. The travellers took turns, one at a time, to mount
guard until the morning.

Scarce had the day dawned, when the gormandizing was
renewed by the whole band, and carried on with surprising
vigor until ten o'clock, when all prepared to depart. They
had six day's journey yet to make, they said, before they
should come up with the Crows, who they understood were
encamped on a river to the northward. Their way lay through
a hungry country where there was no game ; they would more
over, have but little time to hunt ; they, therefore, craved a
small supply of provisions for the journey. Mr. Stuart again
invited them to help themselves. They did so with keen
forethought, loading themselves with the choicest parts of the
meat, and leaving the late plenteous larder far gone in a
consumption. Their next request was for a supply of amu-
nition, having guns, but no powder and ball. They promised
to pay magnificently out of the spoils of their foray. " We
are poor now," said they, " and are obliged to go on foot, but
we shall soon come back laden with booty, and all mounted
on horseback, with scalps hanging at our bridles. We will
then give each of you a horse to keep you from being tired on
your journey."

" Well," said Mr. Stuart, " when you bring the horses, you
shall have the ammunition, but not before." The Indians saw
by his determined tone, that all further entreaty would be
unavailing, so they desisted, with a good humored laugh, and
went off exceedingly well freighted, both within and without,
promising to be back again in the course of a fortnight.

176 GOOD QUARTERS ABANDONED.

No sooner were they out of hearing, than the luckless
travellers held another council. The security of their cabin
was at an end, and with it all their dreams of a quiet and
cosey winter. They were between two fires. On one side
were their old enemies, the Crows ; on the other side, the
Arapahays, no less dangerous freebooters. As to the modera
tion of this war party, they considered it assumed, to put them
off their guard against some more, favorable opportunity for a
surprisal. It was determined, therefore, not to await their
return, but to abandon, with all speed, this dangerous neighbor
hood. From the accounts of their recent visitors, they were
led to believe, though erroneously, that they were upon the
Quicourt, or Rapid river. They proposed now to keep along
it, to its confluence with the Missouri ; but, should they be
prevented by the rigors of the season, from proceeding so far,
at least to reach a part of the river where they might be able
to construct canoes of greater strength and durability than
those of buffalo skins.

Accordingly, on the 13th of December, they bade adieu,
with many a regret, to their comfortable quarters, where, for
five weeks, they had been indulging the sweets of repose,
of plenty, and of fancied security. They were still accom
panied by their veteran pack horse, which the Arapahays had
omitted to steal, either because they intended to steal him on
their return, or because they thought him not worth stealing.

WINTRY TRAVELLING. 17?

CHAPTER XX.

ROUGH WINTRY TRAVELLING HILLS AND PLAINS SNOW AND ICE DIS
APPEARANCE OF GAME A VAST DREARY PLAlN-^-A SECOND HALT FOR

THE WINTER ANOTHER WIGWAM NEW-YEAR'S FEAST BUFFALO HUMPS,

TONGUES, AND MARROW BONES RETURN OF SPRING LAUNCH OF CANOES

BAD NAVIGATION PEDESTRIAN MARCH VAST PRAIRIES DESERTED CAMPS

— PAWNEE SQUAWS — AN OTTO INDIAN — NEWS OF WAR — VOYAGE DOWN
THE PLATTE, AND THE MISSOURI — RECEPTION AT FORT OSAGE — ARRIVAL
AT ST. Louis.

THE interval of comfort and repose which the party had en
joyed in their wigwam, rendered the renewal of their fatigues
intolerable for the first two or three days. The snow lay deep,
and was slightly frozen on the surface, but not sufficiently to
bear their weight. Their feet became sore by breaking
through the crust, and their limbs weary by floundering on
without firm foothold. So exhausted and dispirited were they,
that they began to think it would be better to remain and run
the risk of being killed by the Indians, than to drag on thus
painfully, with the probability of perishing by the way. Their
miserable horse fared no better than themselves, having for the
first day or two no other fodder than the ends of willow twigs,
and the bark of the cotton-wood tree.

They all, however, appeared to gain patience and hardihood
as they proceeded, and for fourteen days kept steadily on,
making a distance of about three hundred and thirty miles.

178 SCENERY ALONG THE RITER.

For some days, the range of mountains which had been near
to their wigwam, kept parallel to the river at no great distance,
but at length subsided into hills. Sometimes they found the
river bordered with alluvial bottoms, and groves with cotton-
wood and willows ; sometimes the adjacent country was naked
and barren. In one place it ran for a considerable distance
between rocky hills and promontories covered with cedar and
pitch pines, and peopled with the bighorn and the mountain
deer ; at other places it wandered through prairies well stocked
with buffaloes and antelopes. As they descended the course
of the river, they began to perceive the ash and white oak here
and there among the cotton-wood and willow ; and at length
caught a sight of some wild horses on the distant prairies.

The weather was various ; at one time the snow lay deep ;
then they had a genial day or two, with the mildness and
serenity of autumn ; then again, the frost was so severe that
the river was sufficiently frozen to bear them upon the ice.

During the last three days of their fortnight's travel, how
ever, the face of the country changed. The timber gradually
diminished, until they could scarcely find fuel sufficient for
culinary purposes. The game grew more and more scanty,
and finally, none were to be seen but a few miserable broken
down buffalo bulls, not worth killing. The snow lay fifteen
inches deep, and made the travelling grievously painful and
toilsome. At length they came to an immense plain, where
no vestige of timber was to be seen ; nor a single quadruped
to enliven the desolate landscape. Here, then, their hearts
failed them, and they held another consultation. The width
of the river, which was upwards of a mile, its extreme shal-
lowness, the frequency of quicksands, and various other cha
racteristics, had at length made them sensible of their errors
with respect to it, and they now came to the correct conclusion,

SECOND CANTONMENT. 179

that they were on the banks of the Platte or Shallow river.
What were they to do 1 Pursue its course to the Missouri 1
To go on at this season of the year seemed dangerous in the
extreme. There was no prospect of obtaining either food or
firing. The country was destitute of trees, and though there
might be drift wood along the river, it lay too deep beneath the
snow for them to find it.

The weather was threatening a change, and a snow storm
on these boundless wastes, might prove as fatal as a whirlwind
of sand on an Arabian desert. After much dreary deliberation,
it was at length determined to retrace their three last days'
journey, of seventy-seven miles, to a place which they had
remarked ; where there was a sheltering growth of forest
trees, and a country abundant in game. Here they would
once more set up their winter quarters, and await the opening
of the navigation to launch themselves in canoes.

Accordingly, on the 27th of December they faced about,
retraced their steps, and on the 30th, regained the part of the
river in question. Here the alluvial bottom was from one to
two miles wide, and thickly covered with a forest of cotton-
wood trees ; while herds of buffalo were scattered about the
neighboring prairie, several of which soon fell beneath their
rifles.

They encamped on the margin of the river, in a grove where
there were trees large enough for canoes. Here they put up
a shed for immediate shelter, and immediately proceeded to
erect a hut. New-year's day dawned when, as yet, but one
wall of their cabin was completed ; the genial and jovial day,
however, was not permitted to pass uncelebrated, even by this
weather beaten crew of wanderers. All work was suspended,
except that of roasting and boiling. The choicest of the buf
falo meat, with tongues, and humps, and marrow bones, were

180 WINTER QUARTERS.

devoured in quantities that would astonish any one that has
not lived among hunters or Indians ; and as an extra regale,
having no tobacco left, they cut up an old tobacco pouch, still
redolent with the potent herb, and smoked it in honor of the
day. Thus for a time, in present revelry, however uncouth,
they forgot all past troubles and all anxieties about the future,
and their forlorn wigwam echoed to the sound of gayety.

The next day they resumed their labors, and by the 6th
of the month it was complete. They soon killed abundance
of buffalo, and again laid in a stock of winter provisions.

The party were more fortunate in this their second canton
ment. The winter passed away without any Indian visiters :
and the game continued to be plenty in the neighborhood.
They felled two large trees, and shaped them into canoes ;
and, as the spring opened, and a thaw of several days contin
uance melted the ice in the river, they made every preparation
for embarking. On the 8th of March they launched forth in
their canoes, but soon found that the river had not depth suffi
cient even for such slender barks. It expanded into a wide,
but extremely shallow stream, with many sand bars, and occa
sionally various channels. They got one of their canoes a
few miles down it, with extreme difficulty, sometimes wading,
and dragging it over the shoals ; at length they had to abandon
the attempt, and to resume their journey on foot, aided by their
faithful old pack horse, who had recruited strength during the
repose of the winter.

The weather delayed them for a few days, having suddenly
become more rigorous than it had been at any time during the
winter ; but on the 20th of March they were again on their
journey.

In two days they arrived at the vast naked prairie, the
wintry aspect of which had caused them, in December, to

IMMENSE PLAINS. 181

pause and turn back. It was now clothed in the early verdure
of spring, and plentifully stocked with game. Still, when
obliged to bivouac on its bare surface, without any shelter, and
by a scanty fire of dry buffalo dung, they found the night blasts
piercing cold. On one occasion, a herd of buffalo, straying
near their evening camp, they killed three of them merely for
their hides, wherewith to make a shelter for the night.

They continued on for upwards of a hundred miles ; with
vast prairies extending before trfem as they advanced ; some
times diversified by undulating hills, but destitute of trees. In
one place they saw a gang of sixty-five wild horses, but as to
the buffaloes, they seemed absolutely to cover the country.
Wild geese abounded, and they passed extensive swamps
that were alive with innumerable flocks of waterfowl, among
which were a few swans, but an endless variety of ducks.

The river continued a winding course to the east-northeast,
nearly a mile in width, but too shallow to float even an empty
canoe. The country spread out into a vast level plain, bound
ed by the horizon alone, excepting to the north, where a line
of hills seemed like a long promontory stretching into the
bosom of the ocean. The dreary sameness of the prairie
wastes began to grow extremely irksome. The travellers
longed for the sight of a forest, or grove, or single tree, to
break the level uniformity, and began to notice every object
that gave reason to hope they were drawing towards the end
of this weary wilderness. Thus the occurrence of a particular
kind of grass was hailed as a proof that they could not be far
from the bottoms of the Missouri ; and they were rejoiced at
putting up several prairie hens, a kind of grouse seldom found
far in the interior. In picking up drift wood for fuel, also,
they found on some pieces the mark of an axe, which caused

much speculation as to the time when and the persons by
VOL. n. 16

182 DESERTED CAMPS.

whom the trees had been felled. Thus they went on, like
sailors at sea, who perceive in every floating weed and wan
dering bird, harbingers of the wished-for land.

By the close of the month the weather became very mild,
and, heavily burthened as they were, they found the noontide
temperature uncomfortably warm. On the 30th, they came to
three deserted hunting camps, either of Pawnees or Ottoes,
about which were buffalo sculls in all directions ; and the
frames on which the hides had been stretched and cured.
They had apparently been occupied the preceding autumn.

For several days they kept patiently on, watching every
sign that might give them an idea as to where they were, and
how near to the banks of the Missouri.

Though there were numerous traces of hunting parties and
encampments, they were not of recent date. The country
seemed deserted. The only human beings they met with
were three Pawnee squaws, in a hut in the midst of a deserted
camp. Their people had all gone to the south, in pursuit of
the buffalo, and had left these poor women behind, being too
sick and infirm to travel.

It is a common practice with the Pawnees, and probably
with other roving tribes, when departing on a distant expedi
tion, which will not admit of incumbrance or delay, to leave
their aged and infirm with a supply of provisions sufficient for
temporary subsistence. When this is exhausted they must
perish, though sometimes their sufferings are abridged by
hostile prowlers who may visit the deserted camp.

The poor squaws in question expected some such fate at
the hands of the white strangers, and though the latter accosted
them in the kindest manner, and made them presents of dried
buffalo meat, it was impossible to soothe their alarm, or get
any information from them.

AN OTTO VILLAGE WHITE TRADERS. 183

The first landmark by which the travellers were enabled to
conjecture their position with any degree of confidence, was
an island about seventy miles in length, which they presumed
to be Grand isle. If so, they were within one hundred and
forty miles of the Missouri. They kept on, therefore, with
renewed spirit, and at the end of three days met with an Otto
Indian, by whom they were confirmed in their conjecture.
They learnt at the same time another piece of information, of
an uncomfortable nature. According to his account, there was
war between the United States and England, and in fact it
had existed for a whole year, during which time they had been
beyond the reach of all knowledge of the affairs of the civilized
world.

The Otto conducted the travellers to his village, situated a
short distance from the banks of the Flatte. Here they were
delighted to meet with two white men, Messrs. Dornin and
Roi, Indian traders recently from St. Louis. Of these they
had a thousand inquiries to make concerning all affairs, foreign
and domestic, during their year of sepulture in the wilderness ;
and especially about the events of the existing war.

They now prepared to abandon their weary travel by land,
and to embark upon the water. A bargain was made with Mr.
Dornin, who engaged to furnish them with a canoe and provi
sions for the voyage, in exchange for their venerable and well-
tried fellow traveller, the old Snake horse.

Accordingly, in a couple of days, the Indians employed by
that gentleman, constructed for th'em a canoe twenty feet long,
four feet wide, and eighteen inches deep. The frame was of
poles and willow twigs, on which were stretched five elk and
buffalo hides, sewed together with sinews, and the seams
payed with unctuous mud. In this they embarked at an early
hour on the 16th of April, and drifted down ten miles with the

184 VOYAGE TO ST. LOUIS.

stream, when the wind being high they encamped, arid set to
work to make oars, which they had not been able to procure
at the Indian village.

Once more afloat, they went merrily down the stream, and
after making thirty-five miles, emerged into the broad turbid
current of the Missouri. Here they were borne along briskly
by the rapid stream, though, by the time their fragile bark had
floated a couple of hundred miles, its frame began to show the
effects of the voyage. Luckily they came to the deserted
wintering place of some hunting party, where they found two
old wooden canoes. Taking possession of the largest, they
again committed themselves to the current, and after dropping
down fifty-five miles further, arrived safely at fort Osage.

Here they found Lieutenant Brownson still in command ;
the officer who had given the expedition a hospitable reception
on its way up the river, eighteen months previously. He
received this remnant of the party with a cordial welcome,
and endeavored in every way to promote their comfort and
enjoyment during their sojourn at the fort. The greatest
Juxury they met with on their return to the abode of civilized
man, was bread, not having tasted any for nearly a year.

Their stay at fort Osage was but short. On re-embarking
they were furnished with an ample supply of provisions by the
kindness of Lieutenant Brownson, and performed the rest of
their voyage without adverse circumstance. On the 30th of
April they arrived in perfect health and fine spirits at St. Louis,
having been ten months performing this perilous expedition
from Astoria. Their return caused quite a sensation at the
place, bringing the first intelligence of the fortune of Mr. Hunt
atod his party, in their adventurous route across the Rocky
mountains, and of the new establishment on the shores of the
Pacific.

COMMERCIAL ARRANGEMENTS. 185

CHAPTER XXI.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN MR. ASTOR AND THE RUSSIAN FUR COMPANY —
WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN INSTRUC
TIONS TO CAPTAIN SOWLE OF THE BEAVER — FITTING OUT OF THE LARK

NEWS OF THE ARRIVAL OF MR. STUART.

IT is now necessary, in linking together the parts of this
excursive narrative, that we notice the proceedings of Mr.
Astor, in support of his great undertaking. His project with
respect to the Russian establishments along the north-west
coast, had been diligently prosecuted. The agent sent by him
to St. Petersburgh, to negotiate in his name as president of
the American Fur Company, had, under sanction of the Rus
sian government, made a provisional agreement with the
Russian company. .

By this agreement, which was ratified by Mr. Astor in 1813,
the two companies bound themselves not to interfere with
each other's trading and hunting grounds, nor to furnish arms
and ammunition to the Indians. They were to act in concert,
also, against all interlopers, and to succor each other in case
of danger. The American company was to have the exclusive
right of supplying the Russian posts with goods and necessa
ries, receiving peltries in payment at stated prices. They
were, also, if so requested by the Russian governor, to convey

the furs of the Russian company to Canton, sell them on com*

16*

186 DECLARATION OF WAR.

mission, and bring back the proceeds, at such freight as might
be agreed on at the time. This agreement was to continue in
operation four years, and to be renewable for a similar term,
unless some unforeseen contingency should render a modifica
tion necessary.

It was calculated to be of .great service to the infant estab
lishment at Astoria ; dispelling the fears of hostile rivalry on
the part of the foreign companies in its neighborhood, and
giving a formidable blow to the irregular trade along the coast.
It was also the intention of Mr. Astor to have coasting vessels
of his own, at Astoria, of small tonnage and draft of water,
fitted for coasting service. These, having a place of shelter
and deposit, could ply about the coast in short voyages, in
favorable weather, and would have vast advantage over chance
ships, which must make long voyages, maintain numerous
crews, and could only approach the coast at certain seasons
of the year. He hoped, therefore, gradually to make Astoria
the great emporium of the American fur trade in the Pacific,
and the nucleus of a powerful American state. Unfortunately
for these sanguine anticipations, before Mr. Astor had ratified
the agreement, as above stated, war broke out between the
United, plates and Great Britain. He perceived at once, the
peril of the case. The harbor of New York would doubtless
be blockaded, and the departure of the annual supply ship in
the autumn prevented ; or, if she should succeed in getting out
to sea, she might be captured on her voyage.

In this emergency, he wrote to Captain Sowle, commander
of the Beaver. The letter, which was addressed to him at
Canton, directed him to proceed to the factory at the mouth
of the Columbia, with such articles as the establishment might
need ; and to remain there, subject to the orders of Mr. Hunt,
should that gentleman be in command there.

RUMORS AND PERPLEXITIES. 187

The war continued. No tidings had yet been received
from Astoria ; the despatches having been delayed by the
misadventure of Mr. Reed at the falls of the Columbia,
and the unhorsing of Mr. Stuart, by the Crows among the
mountains. A painful uncertainty, also, prevailed about Mr.
Hunt and his party. Nothing had been heard of them since
their departure from the Arickara village ; Lisa, who parted
from them there, had predicted their destruction ; and some
of the traders of the North-west Company, had actually spread
a rumor of their having been cut off by the Indians.

It was a hard trial of the courage and means of an indi
vidual, to have to fit out another costly expedition, where so
much had already been expended, so much uncertainty pre
vailed, and where the risk of loss was so greatly enhanced,
that no insurance could be effected.

In spite of all these discouragements, Mr. Astor determined
to send another ship to the relief of the settlement. He
selected for this purpose, a vessel called the Lark, remarkable
for her fast sailing. The disordered state of the times, how
ever, caused such delay, that February arrived, while the ves
sel was yet lingering in port.

At this juncture, Mr. Astor learnt that the North-west
Company were preparing to send out an armed ship of twenty
guns, called the Isaac Todd, to form an establishment at the
mouth of the Columbia. These tidings gave him great uneasi
ness. A considerable proportion of the persons in his employ
were Scotchmen and Canadians, and several of them had
been in the service of the North-west Company. Should
Mr. Hunt have failed to arrive at Astoria, the whole establish
ment would be under the control of Mr. M'Dongal, of whose
fidelity he had received very disparaging accounts from Cap
tain Thorn. The British government, also, might deem it

188 SAILING OF THE LARK.

worth while to send a force against the establishment, having
been urged to do so some time previously, by the North-west
Company.

Under all these circumstances, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr.
Monroe, then secretary of state, requesting protection from
the government of the United States. He represented the
importance of his settlement, in a commercial point of view,
and the shelter it might afford to the American vessels in those
seas. All he asked was, that the American government would
throw forty or fifty men into the fort at his establishment,
which would be sufficient for its defence, until he could send
reinforcements over land.

He waited in vain for a reply to this letter, the government,
no doubt, being engrossed at the time, by an overwhelming
crowd of affairs. The month of March arrived, and the Lark
was ordered by Mr. Astor, to put to sea. The officer who
was to command her, shrunk from his engagement, and in the
exigency of the moment, she was given in charge to Mr.
Northrop, the mate. Mr. Nicholas G. Ogden, a gentleman on
whose talents and integrity the highest reliance could be
placed, sailed as supercargo. The Lark put to sea in the
beginning of March, 1813.

By this opportunity, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr. Hunt, as head
of the establishment at the mouth of the Columbia, for he
would not allow himself to doubt of his welfare. " I always
think you are well," said he, " and that I shall see you again,
which heaven, I hope, will grant."

He warned him to be on his guard against any attempts to
surprise the post ; suggesting the probability of armed hostility
on the part of the North-west Company, and expressing his
indignation at the ungrateful returns made by that association
for his frank and open conduct, and advantageous overtures.

GLOOMY DOUBTS A RAY OF HOPE. 189

" Were I on the spot," said he, " and had the management
of affairs, I would defy them all ; but as it is, every thing
depends upon you and your friends about you. Our enterprise
is grand, and deserves success, and I hope in God it will meet
it. If my object was merely gain of money, I should say,
think whether it is best to save what we can, and abandon
the place ; but the very idea is like a dagger to my heart."
This extract is sufficient to show the spirit and the views
which actuated Mr. Astor in this great undertaking.

Week after week, and month after month elapsed, without
any thing to dispel the painful incertitude that hung over every
part of this enterprize. Though a man of resolute spirit, and
not easily cast down, the dangers impending over this darling
scheme of his ambition, had a gradual effect upon the spirits
of Mr. Astor. He was sitting one gloomy evening by his
window revolving over the loss of the Tonquin, and the fate
of her unfortunate crew, and fearing that some equally tragical
calamity might have befallen the adventurers across the moun
tains, when the evening newspaper was brought to him. The

X

first paragraph that caught his eye, announced the arrival
of Mr. Stuart and his party at St. Louis, with intelligence
that Mr. Hunt and his companions had effected their perilous
expedition to the mouth of the Columbia. This was a gleam
of sunshine that for a time dispelled every cloud, and he now
looked forward with sanguine hope to the accomplishment
of all his plans.

190 THE WALLAH-WALLAH.

CHAPTER XXII.

BANKS OF THE WALLAH- WALLAH — DEPARTURE OP DAVID STUART FOR THE
OAKINAGAN — MR. CLARKE'S ROUTE up LEWIS RIVER — CHIPUNNISH, OR

PlERCED-NOSE INDIANS THEIR CHARACTER, APPEARANCE, AND HABITS

THIEVISH HABITS LAYING UP OF THE BOATS POST AT POINTED HEART

AND SPOKAN RIVERS — M'KENZIE, HIS ROUTE UP THE CAMOENUM — BANDS
OF TRAVELLING INDIANS EXPEDITION OF K.EED TO THE CACHES ADVEN
TURES OF WANDERING VOYAGEUR8 AND TRAPPERS.

THE course of our narrative now takes us back to the regions
beyond the mountains, to dispose of the parties that set out
from Astoria, in company with Mr. Robert Stuart, and whom
he left on the banks of the Wallah- Wallah. Those parties,
likewise separated from each other shortly after his departure,
proceeding to their respective destinations, but agreeing to
meet at the mouth of the Wallah-Wallah, about the beginning
of June in the following year, with such peltries as they should
have collected in the interior, so as to convoy each other
through the dangerous passes of the Columbia.

Mr. David Stuart, one of the parties, proceeded with his
men to the post already established by him at the mouth of the
Oakinagan ; having furnished this with goods and ammunition,
he proceeded three hundred miles up that river, where he
established another post in a good trading neighborhood.

Mr. Clarke, another partner, conducted his little band up
Lewis river to the mouth of a small stream coming in from the

PIERCED-NOSE INDIANS. 191

north, to which the Canadians gave the name of the Pavion.
Here he found a village or encampment of forty huts or tents,
covered with mats, and inhabited by Nez percea, or Pierced-
nose Indians, as they are called by the traders ; but Chipun-
nish, as they are called by themselves. They are a hardy,
laborious, and somewhat knavish race, who lead a precarious
life, fishing, and digging roots during the summer and autumn,
hunting the deer on snow shoes during the winter, and tra
versing the Rocky mountains in the spring, to trade for buffalo
skins with the hunting tribes of the Missouri. In these migra
tions they are liable to be waylaid and attacked by the Black-
feet, and other warlike and predatory tribes, and driven back
across the mountains with the loss of their horses, and of many
of their comrades.

A life of this unsettled and precarious kind is apt to render
men selfish, and such Mr. Clarke found the inhabitants of this
village, who were deficient in the usual hospitality of Indians ;
parting with every thing with extreme reluctance, and showing
no sensibility to any , act of kindness. At the time of his
arrival, they were all occupied in catching and curing salmon.
The men were stout, robust, active, and good looking, and the
women handsomer than those of the tribes nearer to the coast.

It was the plan of Mr. Clarke to lay up his boats here, and
proceed by land to his place of destination, which was among
the Spokan tribe of Indians, about a hundred and fifty miles
distant. He accordingly endeavored to purchase horses for
the journey, but in this he had to contend with the sordid dis
position of these people. They asked high prices for their
horses, and were so difficult to deal with, that Mr. Clarke was
detained seven days among them, before he could procure
a sufficient number. During that time he was annoyed by
repeated pilferings, for which he could get no redress. The

192 CLARKE'S POST.

chief promised to recover the stolen articles ; but failed to do
so, alleging that the thieves belonged to a distant tribe, and
had made off with their booty. With this excuse Mr. Clarke
was fain to content himself, though he laid up in his heart a
bitter grudge against the whole pierced-nose race, which it
will be found he took occasion subsequently to gratify in a
signal manner.

Having made arrangements for his departure, Mr. Clarke
laid up his barge and canoes in a sheltered place, on the banks
of a small bay, overgrown with shrubs and willows, confiding
them to the care of the Nezperce chief, who on being pro
mised an ample compensation, engaged to have a guardian
eye upon them ; then mounting his steed, and putting himself
at the head of his little caravan, he shook the dust off of his
feet as he turned his back upon this village of rogues and hard
dealers. We shall not follow him minutely in his journey ;
which lay at times over steep and rocky hills, and among crags
and precipices ; at other times over vast naked and sunburnt
plains, abounding with rattlesnakes, in traversing which, both
men and horses suffered intolerably from heat and thirst. The
place on which he fixed for a trading post was a fine point of
land at the junction of the Pointed Heart and Spokan rivers.
His establishment was intended to compete with a trading post
of the North-west Company, situated at no great distance, and
to rival it in the trade with the Spokan Indians ; as well as
with the Cootonais and Flatheads. In this neighborhood we
shall leave him for the present.

Mr. M'Kenzie, who conducted the third party from the
Wallah- Wallah, navigated for several days up the south branch
of the Columbia, named the Camoenum by the natives, but
commonly called Lewis river, in honor of the first explorer.
Wandering bands of various tribes were seen along this river,

EXPEDITION OF REED TO THE CACHES. 193

travelling in various directions ; for the Indians generally are
restless roving beings, continually intent on enterprises of war,
traffic, and hunting. Some of these people were driving large
gangs of horses, as if to a distant market. Having arrived at
the mouth of the Shahaptan, he ascended some distance up
that river, and established his trading post upon its banks.
This appeared to be a great thoroughfare for the tribes from
the neighborhood of the falls of the Columbia, in their expedi
tions to make war upon the tribes of the Rocky mountains ; to
hunt buffalo on the plains beyond, or to traffic for roots and
buffalo robes. It was the season of migration, and the Indians
from various distant parts were passing and repassing in great
numbers.

Mr. M'Kenzie now detached a small band, under the con
duct of Mr. John Reed, to visit the caches made by Mr. Hunt
at the Caldron Linn, and to bring the contents to his post ; as
he depended, in some measure, on them for his supplies of
goods and ammunition. They had not been gone a week,
when two Indians arrived of the Pallatapalla tribe, who Jive
upon a river of the same name. These communicated the un
welcome intelligence that the caches had been robbed. They
said that some of their tribe had, in the course of the preceding
spring, been across the mountains, which separated them from
Snake river, and had traded horses with the Snakes in ex
change for blankets, robes, and goods of various descriptions.
These articles the Snakes had procured from caches to which
they were guided by some white men who resided among
them, and who afterwards accompanied them across the Rocky
mountains. This intelligence was extremely perplexing to
Mr. M'Kenzie, but the truth of part of it was confirmed by the
two Indians, who brought them an English saddle and bridle,
which was recognised as having belonged to Mr. Crooks.

VOL. II. 17

194 CANADIAN STRAGGLERS.

The perfidy of the white men who revealed the secret of the
caches, was, however, perfectly inexplicable. We shall pre
sently account for it, in narrating the expedition of Mr. Reed.

That worthy Hibernian proceeded on his mission with his
usual alacrity. His forlorn travels of the preceding winter
had made him acquainted with the topography of the country,
and he reached Snake river without any material difficulty.
Here, in an encampment of the natives, he met with six white
men, wanderers from the main expedition of Mr. Hunt, who,
after having had their respective shares of adventures and
mishaps, had fortunately come together at this place. Three
of these men were Turcotte, La Chapelle, and Francis Lan-
dry ; the three Canadian voyageurs who, it may be recollected,
had left Mr. Crooks in February, in the neighborhood of Snake
river, being dismayed by the increasing hardships of the jour
ney, and fearful of perishing of hunger. They had returned
to a Snake encampment, where they passed the residue of the
winter.

Early in the spring, being utterly destitute, and in great
extremity, and having worn out the hospitality of the Snakes,
they determined to avail themselves of the buried treasures
within their knowledge. They accordingly informed the
Snake chieftains that they knew where a great quantity of
goods had been left in cache, enough to enrich the whole
tribe ; and offered to conduct them to the place, on condition
of being rewarded with horses and provisions. The chieftains
pledged their faith and honor as great men and Snakes, and
the three Canadians conducted them to the place of deposit
at the Caldron Linn. This is the way that the savages got
knowledge of the caches, and not by following the tracks of
wolves, as Mr. Stuart had supposed. Never did money dig
gers turn up a miser's hoard with more eager delight, than did

, BEGGARS ON HORSEBACK. 195

the savages lay open the treasures of the caches. Blankets
and robes ; brass trinkets and blue beads were drawn forth
with chuckling exultation, and long strips of scarlet cloth,
produced yells of exstacy.

The rifling of the caches effected a change in the fortunes
and deportment of the whole party. The Snakes were better
clad and equipped than ever were Snakes before, and the
three Canadians, suddenly finding themselves with horse to
ride and weapon to wear, were, like beggars on horseback,
ready to ride on any wild scamper. An opportunity soon pre
sented. The Snakes determined on a hunting match on the
buffalo prairies, to lay in a supply of beef, that they might live
in plenty, as became men of their improved condition. The
three newly mounted cavaliers must fain accompany them.
They all traversed' the Rocky mountains in safety, descended
to the head waters of the Missouri, and made great havoc
among the buffaloes.

Their hunting camp was full of meat ; they were gorging
themselves, like 'true Indians, with present plenty, and drying
and jerking great quantities for a winter's supply. In the
midst of their revelry and good cheer, the camp was surprised
by the Blackfeet. Several of the Snakes were slain on the
spot ; the residue, with their three Canadian allies, fled to the
mountains, stripped of horses, buffalo meat, every thing ; and
made their way back to the old encampment on Snake river,
poorer than ever, but esteeming themselves fortunate in having
escaped with their lives. They had not been long there when
the Canadians were cheered by the sight of a companion in
misfortune, Dubreuil, the poor voyageur who had left Mr.
Crooks in March, being too much exhausted to keep on with
him. Not long afterwards, three other straggling members of
the main expedition made their appearance. These were

196 If ORE STRAGGLERS.

Carson, St. Michael, and Pierre Delaunay, three of the trappers
who, in company with Pierre Detaye", had been left among
the mountains by Mr. Hunt, to trap beaver, in the preceding
month of September. They had departed from the main body
well armed and provided, with horses to ride, and horses to
carry the peltries they were to collect. They came wandering
into the Snake camp as ragged and destitute as their prede
cessors. It appears that they had finished their trapping, and
were making their way in the spring to the Missouri, when
they were met and attacked by a powerful band of the all-
pervading Crows. They made a desperate resistance, and
killed seven of the savages, but were overpowered by numbers.
Pierre Detaye* was slain, the rest were robbed of horses and
effects, and obliged to turn back, when they fell in with their
old companions, as already mentioned.

We should observe, that at the heels of Pierre Delaunay
came draggling an Indian wife, whom he had picked up in
his wanderings ; having grown weary of celibacy among the
savages.

The whole seven of this forlorn fraternity of adventurers,
thus accidentally congregated on the banks of Snake river,
were making arrangements once more to cross the mountains,
when some Indian scouts brought word of the approach of the
little band headed by John Reed.

The latter, having heard the several stories of these wan
derers, took them all into his party, and set out for the Cal
dron Linn, to clear out two or three of the caches which had
not been revealed to the Indians.

At that place he met with Robinson, the Kentucky veteran,
who, with his two comrades, Rezner and Hoback, had remain
ed there when Mr. Stuart went on. This adventurous trio had
been trapping higher up the river, but Robinson had come

MYSTERIOUS FATE OF CASS. 197

down in a canoe, to await the expected arrival of the party,
and obtain horses and equipments. He told Reed the story of
the robbery of his party by the Arapahays, but it differed, in
some particulars, from the account given by him to Mr. Stuart.
In that, he had represented Cass as having shamefully deserted
his companions in their extremity, carrying off with him a
horse : in the one now given, he spoke of him as having been
killed in the affray with the Arapahays. This discrepancy, of
which, of course, Reed could have had no knowledge at the
time, concurred with other circumstances, to occasion after
wards some mysterious speculations and dark surmises, as to
the real fate of Cass ; but as no substantial grounds were ever
adduced for them, we forbear to throw any deeper shades into
this story of sufferings in the wilderness.

Mr. Reed having gathered the remainder of the goods from
the caches, put himself at the head of his party, now augment
ed by the seven men thus casually picked up, and the squaw
of Pierre Delaunay, and made his way successfully to M'Ken-
zie's post, on the waters of the Shahaptan.

17*

198 DEPARTURE OF THE BEAVER.

CHAPTER XXIII.

DEPARTURE OF MR. HUNT IN THE BEAVER — PRECAUTIONS AT THE FACTORY

DETACHMENT TO THE WoLLAMUT GLOOMY APPREHENSIONS ARRIVAL

OF M'KENZIE — AFFAIRS AT THE SHAHAPTAN — NEWS or WAR — DISMAY

OF M'DOUOAL DETERMINATION TO ABANDON ASTORIA DEPARTURE OF

M'KENZIE FOR THE INTERIOR— ADVENTURE AT THE RAPIDS — VISIT TO THE

RUFFIANS OF WlSH-RAM A PERILOUS SITUATION MEETING WITH M'TA-

VISH AND HIS PARTY ARRIVAL AT THE SHAHAPTAN PLUNDERED CACHES

DETERMINATION OF THE WINTERING PARTNERS NOT TO LEAVE THE

COUNTRY ARRIVAL OF CLARKE AMONG THE NEZPERCfi's THE AFFAIR

OF THE SILVER GOBLET HANGING OF AN INDIAN ARRIVAL OF THE

WINTERING PARTNERS AT ASTORIA.

AFTER the departure of the different detachments, or brigades,
as they are called by the fur traders, the Beaver prepared for
her voyage along the coast, and her visit to the Russian estab
lishment, at New Archangel, where she was to cany supplies.
It had been determined in the council of partners at Astoria,
that Mr. Hunt should embark in this vessel, for the purpose
of acquainting himself with the coasting trade, and of making
arrangements with the commander of the Russian post, and
that he should be relanded in October, at Astoria, by the
Beaver, on her way to the Sandwich islands, and Canton.

The Beaver put to sea in the month of August. Her de
parture, and that of the various brigades, left the little fortress
of Astoria but slightly garrisoned. This was soon perceived

PRECAUTIONS AT THE FACTORY. 199

by some of the Indian tribes, and the consequence was, in
creased insolence of deportment, and a disposition to hostility.
It was now the fishing season, when the tribes from the
northern coast drew into the neighborhood of the Columbia.
These were warlike and perfidious, in their dispositions ; and
noted for their attempts to surprize trading ships. Among
them were numbers of the Neweetees, the ferocious tribe that
massacred the crew of the Tonquin.

Great precautions, therefore, were taken at the factory, to
guard against surprise while these dangerous intruders were
in the vicinity. Galleries were constructed inside of the
palisades ; the bastions were heightened, and sentinels were
posted day and night. Fortunately, the Chinooks and other
tribes resident in the vicinity manifested the most pacific
disposition. Old Comcomly, who held sway over them, was
a shrewd calculator. He was aware of the advantages of
having the whites as neighbors, and allies, and of the conse
quence derived to himself and his people from acting as inter
mediate traders between them and the distant tribes. He
had, therefore, by this time, become a firm friend of the Asto-
rians, and formed a kind of barrier between them and the
hostile intruders from the north.

The summer of 1812 passed away without any of the hos
tilities that had been apprehended ; the Neweetees, and other
dangerous visitors to the neighborhood, finished their fishing
and returned home, and the inmates of the factory once more
felt secure from attack.

It now became necessary to guard against other evils.
The season of scarcity arrived, which commences in October,
and lasts until the end of January. To provide for the support
of the garrison, the shallop was employed to forage about the
shoress of the river. A number of the men, also, under the

200 GLOOMY APPREHENSIONS.

command of some of the clerks, were sent to quarter them
selves on the banks of the Wollamut, (the Multnomah of
Lewis and Clark), a fine river which disembogues itself into
the Columbia, about sixty miles above Astoria. The country
bordering on the river is finely diversified with prairies and
hills, and forests of oak, ash, maple and cedar. It abounded
at that time, with elk and deer, and the streams were well
stocked with beaver. Here the party, after supplying their
own wants, were enabled to pack up quantities of dried meat,
and send it by canoes, to Astoria.

The month of October elapsed without the return of the
Beaver. November, December, January, passed away, and
still nothing was seen or heard of her. Gloomy apprehen
sions now began to be entertained : she might have been
wrecked in the course of her coasting voyage, or surprised,
like the Tonquin, by some of the treacherous tribes of the
north.

No one indulged more in these apprehensions that M'Dou-
gal, who had now the charge of the establishment. He no
longer evinced the bustling confidence and buoyancy which
once characterized him. Command seemed to have lost its
charms for him ; or rather, he gave way to the most abject
despondency, decrying the whole enterprize, magnifying every
untoward circumstance, and foreboding nothing but evil.

While in this moody state, he was surprised, on the 16th
of January, by the sudden appearance of M'Kenzie, way-worn
and weather-beaten by a long wintry journey from his post on
the Shahaptan, and with a face the very frontispiece for a
volume of misfortune. M'Kenzie had been heartily disgusted
and disappointed at his post. It was in the midst of the
Tushepaws, a powerful and warlike nation, divided into many
tribes, under different chiefs, who posessed innumerable horses,

NEWS OF WAR. 201

but, not having turned their attention to beaver trapping, had
no furs to offer. According to M'Kenzie, they were but a
" rascally tribe ;" from which we may infer that they were
prone to consult their own interests, more than comported with
the interests of a greedy Indian trader.

Game being scarce, he was obliged to rely for the most
part, on horse flesh for subsistence, and the Indians discover
ing his necessities, adopted a policy usual in civilized trade,
and raised the price of horses to an exorbitant rate, knowing
that he and his men must eat or die. In this way, the goods
he had brought to trade for beaver skins, were likely to be
bartered for horse flesh, and all the proceeds devoured upon
the spot.

He had despatched trappers in various directions, but the
country around did not offer more beaver than his own station.
In this emergency he began to think of abandoning his un
profitable post, sending his goods to the posts of Clarke and
David Stuart, who could make a better use of them, as they
were in a good beaver country, and returning with his party
to Astoria, to seek some better destination. With this view
he repaired to the post of Mr. Clarke, to hold a consultation.
While the two partners were in conference in Mr. Clarke's
wigwam, an unexpected visiter came bustling in upon them.

This was Mr. John George M'Tavish, a partner of the
North-west Company who had charge of the rival trading
posts established in that neighborhood. Mr. M'Tavish was
the delighted messenger of bad news. He had been to lake
Winnipeg, where he received an express from Canada, con
taining the declaration of war, and President Madison's procla
mation, which he handed with the most officious complaisance
to Messrs Clarke and M'Kenzie. He moreover told them, that
he had received a fresh supply of goods from the north-west

202 A RASH RESOLUTION.

posts on the other side of the Rocky mountains, and was
prepared for vigorous opposition to the establishments of the
American company. He capped the climax of this obliging,
but belligerent intelligence, by informing them that the armed
ship, Isaac Todd, was to be at the mouth of the Columbia
about the beginning of March, to get possession of the trade
of the river, and that he was ordered to join her there at
that time.

The receipt of this news determined M'Kenzie. He im
mediately returned to the Shahaptan, broke up his establish
ment, deposited his goods in cache, and hastened, with all his
people, to Astoria.

The intelligence thus brought, completed the dismay of
M'Dougal, and seemed to produce a complete confusion of
mind. He held council of war with M'Kenzie, at which
some of the clerks were present, but of course had no votes.
They gave up all hope of maintaining their post at Astoria.
The Beaver had probably been lost ; they could receive no aid
from the United States, as all the ports would be blockaded.
From England nothing could be expected but hostility. It
was determined, therefore, to abandon the establishment in the
course of the following spring, and return across the Rocky
mountains.

In pursuance of the resolution, they suspended all trade
with the natives, except for provisions, having already more
peltries than they could carry away, and having need of all
the goods for the clothing and subsistence of their people,
during the remainder of their sojourn, and on their journey
across the mountains. This intention of abandoning Astoria
was, however, kept secret from the men, lest they should at
once give up all labor, and become restless and insubordinate.

In the mean time, M'Kenzie set off for his post at the Sha-

A VISIT TO WISH-RAM. 203

haptan, to get his goods from the caches, and buy horses and
provisions with them for the caravan, across the mountains.
He was charged with despatches from M'Dougal to Messrs.
Stuart and Clarke, apprising them of the intended migration,
that they might make timely preparations.

M'Kenzie was accompanied by two of the clerks, Mr. John
Reed, the Irishman, and Mr. Alfred Seton of New York.
They embarked in two canoes, manned by seventeen men,
and ascended the river without any incident of importance,
until they arrived in the eventful neighborhood of the rapids.
They made the portage of the narrows and the falls early
in the afternoon, and, having partaken of a scanty meal, had
now a long evening on the their hands.

On the opposite side of the river lay the village of Wish-
ram, of freebooting renown. Here lived the savages who had
robbed and maltreated Reed, when bearing his tin box of
despatches. It was known that the rifle of which he was
despoiled, was retained as a trophy at the village. M'Kenzie
offered to cross the river, and demand the rifle, if any one
would accompany him. It was a hair-brained project, for
these villages were noted for the ruffian character of their
inhabitants ; yet two volunteers promptly stepped forward ;
Alfred Seton, the clerk, and Joe de la Pierre, the cook. The
trio soon reached the opposite side of the river. On landing,
they freshly primed their rifles and pistols. A path winding
for about a hundred yards among rocks and crags, led to the
village. No notice seemed to be taken of their approach.
Not a solitary being, man woman or child, greeted them. The
very dogs, those noisy pests of an Indian town, kept silence.
On entering the village, a boy made his appearance, and
pointed to a house of larger dimensions than ,the rest. They
had to stoop to enter it ; as soon as they had passed the

204 A DEN OF RUFFIANS.

threshold, the narrow passage behind them was filled up
by a sudden rush of Indians, who had before kept out of
sight.

M'Kenzie and his companions found themselves in a rude
chamber of about twenty-five feet long, and twenty wide.
A bright fire was blazing at one end, near which sat the chief,
about sixty years' old. A large number of Indians, wrapped
in buffalo robes, were squatted in rows, three deep, forming
a semicircle round three sides of the room. A single glance
around sufficed to show them the grim and dangerous assem
blage into which they had intruded, and that all retreat was
cut off by the mass which blocked up the entrance.

The chief pointed to the vacant side of the room opposite
to the door, and motioned for them to take their seats. They
complied. A dead pause ensued. The grim warriors around
sat like statues ; each muffled in his robe with his fierce eyes
bent on the intruders. The latter felt they were in a perilous
predicament.

" Keep your eyes on the chief, while I am addressing him,"
said M'Kenzie to his companions. " Should he give any sign
to his band, shoot him, and make for the door."

M'Kenzie advanced, and offered the pipe of peace to the chief,
but it was refused. He then made a regular speech, explain
ing the object of their visit, and proposing to give in exchange
for the rifle, two blankets, an axe, some beads and tobacco.

When he had done, the chief rose, began to address him in
a low voice, but soon became loud and violent, and ended by
working himself up into a furious passion. He upbraided the
white men for their sordid conduct in passing and repassing
through their neighborhood, without giving them a blanket or
any other article of goods, merely because they had no furs to
barter in exchange ; and he alluded with menaces of vengeance,

A CRITICAL SITUATION. 205

to the death of the Indian killed by the whites in the skirmish
at the falls.

Matters were verging to a crisis. It was evident the sur
rounding savages were only waiting a signal from the chief to
spring upon their prey. M'Kenzie and his companions had
gradually risen on their feet during the speech, and had
brought their rifles to to a horizontal position, the barrels
resting in their left hands ; the muzzle of M'Kenzie's piece
was within three feet of the speaker's heart. They cocked
their rifles ; the click of the locks for a moment suffused the
dark cheek of the savage, and there was a pause. They
cooly, but promptly, advanced to the door ; the Indians fell
back in awe, and suffered them to pass. The sun was just
setting, as they emerged from this dangerous den. They took
the precaution to keep along the tops of the rocks as much
as possible on their way back to the canoe, and reached their
camp in safety, congratulating themselves on their escape,
and feeling no desire to make a second visit to the grim
warriors of Wish-ram.

M'Kenzie and his party resumed their journey the next
morning. At some distance above the falls of the Columbia,
they observed two bark canoes, filled with white men, coming
down the river, to the full chant of a set of Canadian voya-
geurs. A parley ensued. It was a detachment of north
westers, under the command of Mr. John George M'Tavish,
bound, full of song and spirit, to the mouth of the Columbia,
to await the arrival of the Isaac Todd.

M'Kenzie and M'Tavish came to a halt, and landing, en
camped together for the night. The voyageurs of either party
hailed each other as brothers, and old " comrades," and they
mingled together as if united by one common interest, instead

of belonging to rival companies, and trading under hostile flags.
VOL. n. 18

206 THE RIFLED CACHES. ,

i

In the morning they proceeded on their different ways, in
style corresponding to their different fortunes : the one toiling
painfully against the stream, the other sweeping down gaily
with the current.

M'Kenzie arrived safely at his deserted post on the Sha-
haptan, but found, to his chagrin, that his caches had been
discovered and rifled by the Indians. Here was a dilemma,
for, on the stolen goods he had depended to purchase horses
of the Indians. He sent out men in all directions to endeavor
to discover the thieves, and despatched Mr. Reed to the posts
of Messrs. Clarke and David Stuart, with the letters of Mr.
M'Dougal.

The resolution announced in these letters, to break up and
depart from Astoria, was condemned by both Clarke and Stuart.
These two gentlemen had been very successful at their posts,
and considered it rash and pusilanimous to abandon, on the
first difficulty, an enterprise of such great cost and ample pro
mise. They made no arrangements, therefore, for leaving the
country, but acted with a view to the maintenance of their new
and prosperous establishments.

The regular time approached, when the partners of the inte
rior posts were to rendezvous at the mouth of the Wallah-
Wallah, on their way to Astoria, with the peltries they had
collected. Mr. Clarke accordingly packed all his furs on
twenty-eight horses, and, leaving a clerk and four men to take
charge of the post, departed on the 25th of May with the
residue of his force.

On the 30th, he arrived at the confluence of the Pavion and
Lewis rivers, where he had left his barge and canoes, in the
guardianship of the old Pierced-nose chieftain. That dignitary
had acquitted himself more faithfully of his charge than Mr.
Clarke had expected, and the canoes were found in very tole-

• THE AFFAIR OF THE SILVER GOBLET. 207

rable order. Some repairs were necessary, and, while they
were making, the party encamped close by the village. Hav
ing had repeated and vexatious proofs of the pilfering propen
sities of this tribe during his former visit, Mr, Clarke ordered
that a wary eye should be kept upon them.

He was a tall, good-looking man, and somewhat given to
pomp and circumstance, which made him an object of note in
the eyes of the wondering savages. He was stately, too, in
his appointments, and had a silver goblet or drinking cup, out
of which he would drink with a magnificent air, and then lock
it up in a large garde vin, which accompanied him in his
travels, and stood in his tent. This goblet had originally been
sent as a present from Mr. Astor to Mr. M'Kay, the partner
who had unfortunately been blown up in the Tonquin. As it
reached Astoria after the departure of that gentleman, it had
remained in the possession of Mr. Clarke.

A silver goblet was too glittering a prize not to catch the
eye of a Pierced-nose. It was like the shining tin case of
John Reed. Such a wonder had never been seen in the land
before. The Indians talked about it to one another. They
marked the care with which it was deposited in the garde vin,
like a relic in its shrine, and concluded that it must be a
" great medicine." That night Mr. Clarke neglected to lock
up his treasure ; in the morning the sacred casket was open —
the precious relic gone !

Clarke was now outrageous. All the past vexations that he
had suffered from this pilfering community rose to mind, and
he threatened, that, unless the goblet were promptly returned,
he would hang the thief should he eventually discover him.
The day passed away, however, without the restoration of the
cup. At night, sentinels were secretly posted about the camp.
With all their vigilance, a Pierced-nose contrived to get into

208 AN EXECUTION. •

the camp unperceived, and to load himself with booty ; it was
only on his retreat that he was discovered and taken.

At daybreak, the culprit was brought to trial, and promptly
convicted. He stood responsible for all the spoliations of the
camp, the precious goblet among the number, and Mr. Clarke
passed sentence of death upon him.

A gibbet was accordingly constructed of oars : the chief of
the village and his people were assembled, and the culprit was
produced, with his legs and arms pinioned. Clarke then made
a harangue. He reminded the tribe of the benefits he had
bestowed upon them during his former visit, and the many
thefts and other misdeeds which he had overlooked. The
prisoner, especially, had always been peculiarly well treated
by the white men, but had repeatedly been guilty of pilfering.
He was to be punished for his own misdeeds, and as a warning
to his tribe.

The Indians now gathered round Mr. Clarke, and interceded
for the culprit. They were willing he should be punished
severely, but implored that his life might be spared. The
companions, too, of Mr. Clarke considered the sentence too
severe, and advised him to mitigate it ; but he was inexorable.
He was not naturally a stern or cruel man ; but from his boy
hood he had lived in the Indian country among Indian traders,
and held the life of a savage extremely cheap. He was,
moreover, a firm believer in the doctrine of intimidation.

Farnham, a clerk, a tall " Green-mountain boy" from Ver
mont, who had been robbed of a pistol, acted as executioner.
The signal was given, and the poor Pierced-nose, resisting,
struggling, and screaming, in the most frightful manner, was
launched into eternity. The Indians stood round gazing in
silence and mute awe, but made no attempt to oppose the exe
cution, nor testified any emotion when it was over. They

• IMPOLICY OF THE ACT. 209

locked up their feelings within their bosoms until an oppor
tunity should arrive to gratify them with a bloody act of
vengeance.

To say nothing of the needless severity of this act, its im
policy was glaringly obvious. Mr. M'Lennan and three men
were to return to the post with the horses, their loads having
been transferred to the canoes. They would have to pass
through a tract of country infested by this tribe, who were all
horsemen and hard riders, and might pursue them to take ven
geance for the death of their comrade. M'Lennan, however,
was a resolute fellow, and made light of all dangers. He and
his three men were present at the execution, and set off as
soon as life was extinct in the victim ; but, to use the words
of one of their comrades, " they did not let the grass grow
under the heels of their horses, as they clattered out of the
Pierced-nose country," and were glad to find themselves in
safety at the post.

Mr. Clarke and his party embarked about the same time in
their canoes, and early on the following day reached the mouth
of the Wallah-Wallah, where they found Messrs. Stuart and
M'Kenzie awaiting them ; the latter having recovered part of
the goods stolen from his cache. Clarke informed them of
the signal punishment he had inflicted on the Pierced-nose,
evidently expecting to excite their admiration by such a hardy
act of justice, performed in the very midst of the Indian coun
try, but was mortified at finding it strongly censured as inhu
man, unnecessary, and likely to provoke hostilities.

The parties thus united formed a squadron of two boats and
six canoes, with which they performed their voyage in safety
down the river, and arrived at Astoria on the 12th of June,
bringing with them a valuable stock of peltries.,

About ten days previously, the brigade which had been
18*

210 PELTRIES FROM THE WOLLAMUT.

quartered on the banks of the Wollamut, had arrived with
numerous packs of beaver, the result of a few months' sojourn
on that river. These were the first fruits of the enterprise,
gathered by men as yet mere strangers in the land ; but they
were such as to give substantial grounds for sanguine antici
pations of profit, when the country should be more completely
explored, and the trade established.

EQUIVOCAL CONDUCT OF M'DOUGAL. 211.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE PARTNER'S DISPLEASED WITH M'DOUGAL — EQUIVOCAL CONDUCT OF THAT

GENTLEMAN PARTNERS AGREE TO ABANDON ASTORIA SALE OF GOODS

TO M'TAVISH ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE YEAR MANIFESTO SIGNED BY

THE PARTNERS DEPARTURE OF M'TAVISH FOR THE INTERIOR.

THE partners found Mr. M'Dougal m all the bustle of prepara
tion ; having about nine days previously announced at the
factory, his intention of breaking up the establishment, and
fixed upon the 1st of July for the time of departure. Messrs.
Stuart and Clarke felt highly displeased at his taking so pre
cipitate a step, without waiting for their concurrence, when
he must have known that their arrival could not be far distant.
Indeed, the whole conduct of Mr. M'Dougal was such as to
awaken strong doubts of his loyal devotion to the cause. His
old sympathies with the North-west Company seemed to have
revived. He had received M'Tavish and his party with un
called-for hospitality, as though they were friends and allies,
instead of being a party of observation, come to reconnoitre
the state of affairs at Astoria, and to await the arrival of a
hostile ship. Had they been left to themselves, they would
have been starved off for want of provisions, or driven away
by the Chinooks, who only wanted a signal from the factory
to treat them as intruders and enemies. M'Dougal, on the
contrary, had supplied them from the stores of the garrison,

212 TRANSACTIONS AT ASTORIA.

and had gained them the favor of the Indians, by treating
them as friends.

Having set his mind fixedly on the project of breaking up
the establishment at Astoria, in the current year, M'Dougal
was sorely disappointed at finding that Messrs. Stuart and
Clarke had omitted to comply with his request to purchase
horses and provisions for the caravan, across the mountains.
It was now too late to make the necessary preparations in
time for traversing the mountains before winter, and the project
had to be postponed.

In the mean time, the non arrival of the annual ship, and
the apprehensions entertained of the loss, of the Beaver and
of Mr. Hunt, had their effect upon the minds of Messrs. Stuart
and Clarke. They began to listen to the desponding repre
sentations of M'Dougal, seconded by M'Kenzie, who inveighed
against their situation as desperate and forlorn ; left to shift
for themselves, or perish upon a barbarous coast ; neglected
by those who sent them there, and threatened with dangers
of every, kind. In this way they were brought to consent to
the plan of abandoning the country in the ensuing year.

About this time, M'Tavish applied at the factory to purchase
a small supply of goods wherewith to trade his way back to
his post on the upper waters of the Columbia, having waited in
vain for the arrival of the Isaac Todd. His request brought on
a consultation among the partners. M'Dougal urged that it
should be complied with. He furthermore proposed, that
they should give up to M'Tavish, for a proper consideration,
the post on the Spokan, and all its dependencies, as they
had not sufficient goods on hand to supply that post them
selves, and to keep up a competition with the North-west
Company, in the trade with the neighboring Indians. This
last representation has since been proved incorrect. By in-

PLANS FOR THE YEAR. 213

ventories, it appears, that that their stock in hand for the
supply of the interior posts, was superior to that of the
North-west Company ; so that they had nothing to fear from
competition.

Through the influence of Messrs. M'Dougal and M'Kenzie,
this proposition was adopted, and was promptly accepted by
M'Tavish. The merchandize sold to him, amounted to eight
hundred and fifty-eight dollars, to be paid for, in the following
spring, in horses, or in any other manner most acceptable to
the partners at that period.

This agreement being concluded, the partners formed their
plans for the year that they would yet have to pass in the
country. Their objects were, chiefly, present subsistence, and
the purchase of horses for the contemplated journey, though
they were likewise to collect as much peltries as their dimin
ished means would command. Accordingly, it was arranged,
that David Stuart should return to his former post on the
Oakinagan, and Mr. Clarke should make his sojourn among
the Flatheads. John Reed, the sturdy Hibernian, was to under
take the Snake river country, accompanied by Pierre Dorion
and Pierre Delaunay, as hunters, and Francis Landry, Jean
Baptiste Turcotte, Andre la Chapelle, and Gilles le Clerc,
Canadian voyageurs.

Astoria, however, was the post about which they felt the
greatest solicitude, and on which they all more or less de
pended. The maintenance of this in safety throughout the
coming year, was, therefore, their grand consideration. Mr.
M'Dougal was to continue in command of it, with a party
of forty men. They would have to depend chiefly upon the
neighboring savages for their subsistence. These, at present,
were friendly, but it was to be feared that, when they should
discover the exigencies of the post, and its real weakness,

214 MANIFESTO OF THE PARTNERS.

they might proceed to hostilities ; or, at any rate, might cease
to furnish their usual supplies. It was important, therefore,
to render the place as independent as possible, of the sur
rounding tribes for its support; and it was accordingly re
solved that M'Kenzie, with four hunters, and eight common
men should winter in the abundant country of the Wollamut,
from whence they might be enabled to furnish a constant
supply of provisions to Astoria.

As there was too great a proportion of clerks for the number
of privates in the service, the engagements of three of them,
Ross Cox, Ross, and M'Lennan, were surrendered to them,
and they immediately enrolled themselves in the service of
the North-west Company ; glad, no doubt, to escape from what
they considered a sinking ship.

Having made all these arrangements, the four partners, on
the first of July, signed a formal manifesto, stating the alarm
ing state of their affairs, from the non-arrival of the annual
ship, and the absence and apprehended loss of the Beaver,
their want of goods, their despair of receiving any further
supply, their ignorance of the coast, and their disappointment
as to the interior trade, which they pronounced unequal to the
expenses incurred, and incompetent to stand against the pow
erful opposition of the North-west Company. And as by the
16th article of the company's agreement, they were authorized
to abandon this undertaking, and dissolve the concern, if be
fore the period of five years, it should be found unprofitable ;
they now formally announced their intention to do so on the
1st day of June, of the ensuing year, unless in the interim,
they should receive the necessary support and supplies from
Mr. Astor, or the stockholders, with orders to continue.

This instrument, accompanied by private letters of similar
import, was delivered to Mr. M'Tavish, who departed on the

MANIFESTO OF THE PARTNERS. 215

5th of July. He engaged to forward the despatches to Mr.
Astor, by the usual winter express sent over land by the
North-west Company.

The manifesto was signed with great reluctance by Messrs.
Clarke and D. Stuart, whose experience by no means justified
the discouraging account given in it, of the internal trade, and
who considered the main difficulties of exploring an unknown
and savage country, and of ascertaining the best trading and
trapping grounds, in a great measure overcome. They were
overruled, however, by the urgent instances of M'Dougal and
M'Kenzie, who, having resolved upon abandoning the enter
prise, were desirous of making as strong a case as possible to
excuse their conduct to Mr. Astor and to the world.

216 HOSTILE MEMORIAL OF THE N. W. COMPANY.

CHAPTER XXV.

ANXIETIES OP MR. ASTOR — MEMORIAL OF THE 'NORTH-WEST COMPANY

TIDINGS OF A BRITISH NAVAL EXPEDITION AOAIN8T ASTORIA MR.

ASTOR APPLIES TO GOVERNMENT FOR PROTECTION THE FRIGATE ADAMS

ORDERED TO BE FITTED OUT BRIGHT NEWS FROM ASTORIA SUNSHINE

SUDDENLY OVERCLOUDED.

WHILE difficulties and disasters had been gathering about the
infant settlement of Astoria, the mind of its projector at New
York, was a prey to great anxiety. The ship Lark, despatched
by him with supplies for the establishment, sailed on the 6th
of March, 1813. Within a fortnight afterwards, he received
intelligence which justified all his apprehensions of hostility
on the part of the British. The North-west Company had
made a second memorial to that government, representing
Astoria as an American establishment, stating the vast scope
of its contemplated operations, magnifying the strength of its
fortifications, and expressing their fears that, unless crushed
in the bud, it would effect the downfall of their trade.

Influenced by these representations, the British government
ordered the frigate Phoebe to be detached as a convoy for the
armed ship, Isaac Todd, which was ready to sail with men
and munitions for forming a new establishment. They were
to proceed together to the mouth of the Columbia, capture or
destroy whatever American fortress they should find there, and
plant the British flag on its ruins.

FITTING OUT OF THE ADAMS. 217

Informed of these movements, Mr. Astor lost no time in
addressing a second letter to the secretary of state, communi
cating this intelligence, and requesting it might be laid before
the president ; as no notice, however, had been taken of his
previous letter, he contented himself with this simple com
munication, and made no further application for aid.

Awakened now to the danger that menaced the establish
ment at Astoria, and aware of the importance of protecting
this foothold of American commerce and empire on the shores
of the Pacific, the government determined to send the frigate
Adams, Captain Crane, upon this service. On hearing of
this determination, Mr. Astor immediately proceeded to fit out
a ship called the Enterprise, to sail in company with the
Adams, freighted with additional supplies and reinforcements
for Astoria.

About the middle of June, while in the midst of these
preparations, Mr. Astor received a letter from Mr. R. Stuart
dated St. Louis, May 1st, confirming the intelligence already
received through the public newspapers, of his safe return,
and of the arrival of Mr. Hunt and his party at Astoria, and
giving the most flattering accounts of the prosperity of the
enterprise.

So deep had been the anxiety of Mr, Astor, for the success
of this great object of his ambition, that this gleam of good
news was almost overpowering. " I felt ready," said he, " to
fall upon my knees in a transport of gratitude."

At the same time he heard that the Beaver had made good
her voyage from New York to the Columbia. This was
additional ground of hope for the welfare of the little colony.
The post being thus relieved and strengthened with an Ameri
can at its head, and a ship of war about to sail for its protec
tion, the prospect for the future seemed full of encouragement,

VOL. II. 19

218 A DISAPPOINTMENT.

and Mr. Astor proceeded with fresh vigor, to fit out his mer
chant ship.

Unfortunately for Astoria, this bright gleam of sunshine was
soon overclouded. Just as the Adams had received her com
pliment of men, and the two vessels were ready for sea, news
came from Commodore Chauncey, commanding on lake On
tario, that a reinforcement of seamen was wanted in that
quarter. The demand was urgent, the crew of the Adams
was immediately transferred to that service, and the ship was
laid up.

This was a most ill-timed and discouraging blow, but Mr.
Astor would not yet allow himself to pause in his undertaking.
He determined to send the Enterprise to sea alone, and let
her take the chance of making her unprotected way across
the ocean. Just at this time, however, a British force made
its appearance off the Hook ; and the port of New York was
effectually blockaded. To send a ship to sea under these
circumstances, would be to expose her to almost certain cap-
ture. The Enterprise was, therefore, unloaded and dismantled,
and Mr. Astor was obliged to comfort himself with the hope
that the Lark might reach Astoria in safety, and that aided by
her supplies, and by the good management of Mr. Hunt and
his associates, the little colony might be able to maintain itself
until the return of peace.

AN ALLIANCE OF STATE. 219

CHAPTER XXVI.

AFFAIRS OF STATE AT ASTORIA — M'DOUGAL PROPOSES FOR THE HAND or
AN INDIAN PRINCESS — MATRIMONIAL EMBASSY TO COMCOMLY — MATRIMO
NIAL NOTIONS AMONG THE CmNOOKS SETTLEMENTS AND PIN MONEY—
THE BRINGING HOME OF THE BRIDE A MANAGING FATHER-IN-LAW

ARRIVAL OF MR. HUNT AT ASTORIA.

WE have hitherto had so much to relate of a gloomy and disas
trous nature, that it is with a feeling of momentary relief we
turn to something of a more pleasing complexion, and record
the first, and indeed only nuptials in high life that took place
in the infant settlement of Astoria.

M'Dougal, who appears to have been a man of a thousand
projects, and of great, though somewhat irregular ambition,
suddenly conceived the idea of seeking the hand of one of the
native princesses, a daughter of the one-eyed potentate Com-
comly, who held sway over the fishing tribe of the Chinooks,
and had long supplied the factory with smelts and sturgeons.

Some accounts give rather a romantic origin to this affair,
tracing it to the stormy night, when M'Dougal, in the course
of an exploring expedition, was driven by stress of weather,
to seek shelter in the royal abode of Comcomly. Then and
there he was first struck with the charms of this piscatory
princess, as she exerted herself to entertain her father's guest.

The "journal of Astoria," however, which was kept under
his own eye, records this union as a high state alliance, and
great stroke of policy. The factory had to depend, in a great

MATRIMONIAL ARRANGEMENTS.

measure, on the Chinooks for provisions. They were at pre
sent friendly, but it was to be feared they would prove other
wise, should they discover the weakness and the exigencies
of the post, and the intention to leave the country. This
alliance, therefore, would infallibly rivet Comcomly to the
interests of the Astorians, and with him the powerful -tribe of
the Chinooks. Be this as it may, and it is hard to fathom the
real policy of governors and princes, M'Dougal despatched
two of the clerks as ambassadors extraordinary, to wait upon
the one-eyed chieftain, and make overtures for the hand of his
daughter.

The Chinooks, though not a very refined nation, have notions
of matrimonial arrangements that would not disgrace the most
refined sticklers for settlements and pin money. The suitor
repairs not to the bower of his mistress, but to her father's
lodge, and throws down a present at his feet. His wishes are
then disclosed by some discreet friend employed by him for
the purpose. If the suitor and his present find favor in the
eyes of the father, he breaks the matter to his daughter, and
inquires into the state of her inclinations. Should her answer
be favorable, the suit is accepted, and the lover has to make
further presents to the father, of horses, canoes, and other
valuables, according to the beauty and merits of the bride ;
looking forward to a return in kind whenever, they shall go to
house-keeping.

We have more than once had occasion to speak of the
shrewdness of Comcomly ; but never was it exerted more
adroitly than on this occasion. He was a great friend of
M'Dougal, and pleased with the idea of having so distinguished
a son-in-law ; but so favorable an opportunity of benefiting his
own fortune, was hot likely to occur a second time, and he
determined to make the most of it. Accordingly, the negotia-

BRINGING HOME THE BRIDE. 221

tion was protracted with true diplomatic skill. Conference
after conference was held with the two ambassadors : Com-
comly was extravagant in his terms ; rating the charms of his
daughter at the highest price, and indeed she is represented as
having one of the flattest and most aristocratical heads in the
tribe. At length the preliminaries were all happily adjusted.
On the 20th of July, early in the afternoon, a squadron of
canoes crossed from the village of the Chinooks, bearing the
royal family of Comcomly, and all his court.

That worthy sachem landed in princely state, arrayed in a
bright blue blanket and red breech clout, with an extra quan
tity of paint and feathers, attended by a train of half-naked
warriors and nobles. A horse was in waiting to receive the
princess, who was mounted behind one of the clerks, and thus
conveyed, coy but compliant, to the fortress. Here she was
received with devout, though decent joy, by her expecting
bridegroom.

Her bridal adornments, it is true, at first caused some little
dismay, having painted and anointed herself for the occasion
according to the Chinook toilet ; by dint, however, of copious
ablutions, she was freed from all adventitious tint, and fra
grance, and entered into the nuptial state, the cleanest princess
that had ever been known, of the somewhat unctuous tribe of
the Chinooks.

From that time forward, Comcomly was a daily visiter at
the fort, and was admitted into the most intimate councils of
his son-in-law. He took an interest in every thing that was
going forward, but was particularly frequent in his visits to the
blacksmith's shop ; tasking the labors of the artificer in iron
for every kind of weapon and implement suited to the savage
state, insomuch that the necessary business of the factory was

often postponed to attend to his requisitions.

19*

222 ARRIVAL OF A SHIP.

The honey moon had scarce passed away, and M'Dougal
was seated with his bride in the fortress of Astoria, when,
about noon of the 20th of August, Gassacop, the son of Com-
comly, hurried into his presence with great agitation, and
announced a ship at the mouth of the river. The news pro
duced a vast sensation. Was it a ship of peace or war ?
Was it American or British? Was it the Beaver or the
Isaac Todd? M'Dougal hurried to the water side, threw
himself into a boat, and ordered the hands to pull with all
speed for the mouth of the harbor. Those in the fort remained
watching the entrance of the river, anxious to know whether
they were to prepare for greeting a friend or fighting an enemy.
At length the ship was descried crossing the bar, and bending
her course towards Astoria. Every gaze was fixed upon her
in silent scrutiny, until the American flag was recognised.
A general shout was the first expression of joy, and next a
salutation was thundered from the cannon of the fort.

The vessel came to anchor on the opposite side of the river,
and returned the salute. The boat of Mr. M'Dougal went on
board, and was seen returning late in the afternoon. The
Astorians watched her with straining eyes, to discover who
were on board, but the sun went down, and the evening closed
in, before she was sufficiently near. At length she reached
the land, and Mr. Hunt stepped on shore. He was hailed as
one risen from the dead, and his return was a signal for merri
ment almost equal to that which prevailed at the nuptials of
M'Dougal.

We must now explain the cause of -this gentleman's long
absence, which had given rise to such gloomy and dispiriting
surmises.

VOYAGE TO NEW ARCHANGEL. 223

CHAPTER XXVII.

VOYAGE OP THE BEAVER TO NEW ARCHANGEL — A RUSSIAN GOVERNOR —
ROYSTERING RULE THE TYRANNY OF THE TABLE HARD DRINKING BAR
GAINS — VOYAGE TO KAMSCHATKA — SEAL-CATCHING ESTABLISHMENT AT ST
PAUL'S — STORMS AT SEA — MR. HUNT LEFT AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS —

TRANSACTIONS OF THE BEAVER AT CANTON RETURN OF MR. HUNT TO

ASTORIA.

IT will be recollected, that the destination of the Beaver, Avhen
she sailed from Astoria on the 4th of August in 1812, was to
proceed northwardly along the coast to Sheetka, or New Arch
angel, there to dispose of that part of her cargo intended for
the supply of the Russian, establishment at that place, and then
to return to Astoria, where it was expected she would arrive
in October.

New Archangel is situated in Norfolk Sound, lat. 57° 2' N.,
long. 135° 50' W. It was the head quarters of the different
colonies of the Russian Fur Company, and the common ren
dezvous of the American vessels trading along the coast.

The Beaver met with nothing worthy of particular mention
in her voyage, and arrived at New Archangel on the 19th of
August. The place at that time was the residence of Count
Baranoff, the governor of the different colonies : a rough, rug
ged, hospitable, hard drinking old Russian ; somewhat of a
soldier, somewhat of a trader ; above all, a boon companion of
the old roystering school, with a strong cross of the bear.

224 A HARD DRINKING GOVERNOR.

Mr. Hunt found this hyperborean veteran ensconced in a
fort which crested the whole of a high rocky promontory. It
mounted one hundred guns, large and small, and was impreg
nable to Indian attack, unaided by artillery. Here the old
governor lorded it over sixty Russians, who formed the corps
of the trading establishment, beside an indefinite number of
Indian hunters of the Kodiak tribe, who were continually
coming and going, or lounging and loitering about the fort like
so many hounds round a sportsman's hunting quarters. Though
a loose liver among his guests, the governor was a strict dis
ciplinarian among his men ; keeping them in perfect subjection,
and having seven on guard night and day.

Beside those immediate serfs and dependants just mentioned,
the old Russian potentate exerted a considerable sway over a
numerous and irregular class of maritime traders, who looked
to him for aid and munitions, and through whom he may be
said to have, in some degree, extended his power along the
whole north-west coast. These were American captains of
vessels engaged in a particular department of trade. One of
these captains would come, in a manner, empty handed to New
Archangel. Here his ship would be furnished with about fifty
canoes and a hundred Kodiak hunters, and fitted out with pro
visions, and every thing necessary for hunting the sea otter on
the coast of California, where the Russians have another
establishment. The ship would ply along the Californian
coast from place to place, dropping parties of otter hunters in
their canoes, furnishing them only with water, and leaving
them to depend upon their own dexterity for a maintenance.
When a sufficient cargo was collected, she would gather up
her canoes and hunters, and return with them to Archangel ;
where the captain would render in the returns of his voyage,
and receive one half of the skins for his share.

TYRANNY OF THE TABLE. 225

Over these coasting captains, as we have hinted, the veteran
governor exerted some sort of sway, but it was of a peculiar
and characteristic kind ; it was the tyranny of the table. They
were obliged to join him in his " prosnics" or carousals, and
to drink " potations pottle deep." His carousals, too, were
not of the most quiet kind, nor were his potations as mild as
nectar. " He is continually," said Mr. Hunt, " giving enter
tainments by way of parade, and if you do not drink raw rum,
and boiling punch as strong as sulphur, he will insult you as
soon as he gets drunk, which is very shortly after setting
down to table."

As to any " temperance captain" who stood fast to his faith,
and refused to give up his sobriety, he might go elsewhere for
a market, for he stood no chance with the governor. Rarely,
however, did any cold water caitiff of the kind darken the
door of old Baranhoff; the coasting captains knew too well
his humor and their own interests ; they joined in his revels,
they drank, and sang, and whooped, and hiccuped, until they
all got " half seas over," and then affairs went on swimmingly.

An awful warning to all " flinchers" occurred shortly before
Mr. Hunt's arrival. A young naval officer had recently been
sent out by the emperor to take command of one of the com
pany's vessels. The governor, as usual, had him at his
" prosnics," and plied him with fiery potations. The young
man stood on the defensive until the old count's ire was com
pletely kindled ; he carried his point, and made the greenhorn
tipsy, willy nilly. In proportion as they grew fuddled they
grew noisy, they quarrelled in their cups ; the youngster paid
old Baranhoff in .his own coin by rating him soundly ; in re
ward for which, when sober, he was taken the rounds of four
pickets, and received seventy-nine lashes, taled out with Rus
sian punctuality of punishment.

226 A KEEN BARGAIN.

Such was the old grizzled bear with whom Mr. Hunt
had to do his business. How he managed to cope with his
humor ; whether he pledged him in raw rum and blazing
punch, and "clinked the can" with him as they made their
bargains, does not appear upon record ; we must infer, how
ever, from his general observations on the absolute sway of
this hard-drinking potentate, that he had to conform to the
customs of his court, and that their business transactions pre
sented a maudlin mixture of punch and peltry.

The greatest annoyance to Mr. Hunt, however, was the
delay to which he was subjected, in disposing of the cargo
of the ship, and getting the requisite returns. With all the
governor's devotions to the bottle, he never obfuscated his
faculties sufficiently to lose sight of his interest, and is repre
sented by Mr. Hunt as keen, not to say crafty, at a bargain,
as the most arrant water drinker. A long time was expended
negotiating with him, and by the time the bargain was con
cluded, the month of October had arrived. To add to the
delay he was to be paid for his cargo in seal skins. Now
it so happened that there was none of this kind of peltry at
the fort of old Baranhoff. It was necessary, therefore, for
Mr. Hunt to proceed to a seal catching establishment, which
the Russian company had at the island of St. Paul, in the sea
of Kamschatka. He accordingly set sail on the 4th of October,
after having spent forty-five days at New Archangel, boosing
and bargaining with its roystering commander, and right glad
was he to escape from the clutches of this " old man of the sea."

The Beaver arrived at St. Paul's on the 31st of October;
by which time, according to arrangement, he ought to have
been back at Astoria. The island of St. Paul's is in latitude
57° N., longitude 170° or 171° W. Its shores, in certain
places, and at certain seasons, are covered with seals, while

FISHY FOOD AND FUEL. 227

others are playing about in the water. Of these, the Russians
take only the small ones, from seven to ten months old, and
carefully select the males, giving the females their freedom,
that the breed may not be diminished. The islanders, how
ever, kill the large ones for provisions, and for skins where
with to cover their canoes. They drive them from the shore
over the rocks, until within a short distance of their habita
tions, where they kill them. By this means, they save them
selves the trouble of carrying the skins, and have the flesh
at hand. This is thrown in heaps, and when the season for
skinning is over, they take out the entrails, and make one
heap of the blubber. This, with drift wood, serves for fuel,
for the island is entirely destitute of trees. They make another
heap of the flesh, which, with the eggs of sea fowls, preserved
in oil, an occasional sea lion, a few ducks in winter, and some
wild roots, composes their food.

Mr. Hunt found seven Russians at the island, and one hun
dred hunters, natives of Oonalaska, with their families. They
lived in cabins that looked like canoes ; being, for the most
part formed of the jaw bone of a whale, put up as rafters,
across which were laid pieces of drift wood covered over with
long grass, the skins of large sea animals, and earth ; so as
to be quite comfortable, in despite of the rigors of the climate ;
though we are told they had as ancient and fish-like an odor,
"as had the quarters of Jonah, when lodged within the whale."

In one of these odoriferous mansions, Mr. Hunt occasionally
took up his abode, that he might be at hand to hasten the
loading of the ship. The operation, however, was somewhat
slow, for it was necessary to overhaul and inspect every pack,
to prevent imposition, and the peltries had then to be conveyed
in large boats, made of skins, to the ship, which was some
little distance from the shore, standing off and on.

228 DILEMMA OF MR. HUNT.

One night, while Mr. Hunt was on shore, with some others
of the crew, there rose a terrible gale. When the day broke,
the ship was not to be seen. He watched for her with anxious
eyes until night, but in vain. Day after day of boisterous
storms, and howling wintry weather, were passed in watchful
ness and solicitude. Nothing was to be seen but a dark and
angry sea, and a scowling northern sky ; and at night he
retired within the jaws of the whale, and nestled discon
solately among seal skins.

At length, on the 13th of November, the Beaver made her
appearance ; much the worse for the stormy conflicts, she had
sustained in those hyperborean seas. She had been obliged
to carry a press of sail in heavy gales, to be able to hold her
ground, and had consequently sustained great damage in her
canvass and rigging. Mr. Hunt lost no time in hurrying the
residue of the cargo on board of her ; then, bidding adieu to
his seal fishing friends, and his whale-bone habitation, he put
forth once more to sea.

He was now for making the best of his way to Astoria, and
fortunate would it have been for the interests of that place,
and the interests of Mr. Astor, had he done so ; but, unluckily,
a perplexing question rose in his mind. The sails and rigging
of the Beaver had been much rent and shattered in the late
storm ; would she be able to stand the hard gales to be
expected in making Columbia river at this season ? Was it
prudent, also, at this boisterous time of the year, to risk the
valuable cargo which she now had on board, by crossing and
recrossing the dangerous bar of that river ? These doubts were
probably suggested or enforced by Captain Sowle, who, it
has already been seen, was an over-cautious, or rather, a timid
seaman, and they may have had some weight with Mr. Hunt ;
but there were other considerations, which more strongly

INJUDICIOUS DECISION. 229

swayed his mind. The lateness of the season, and the unfore
seen delays the ship had encountered at New Archangel, and
by being obliged to proceed to St. Paul's, had put her so much
back in her calculated time, that there was a risk of her
arriving so late at Canton, as to come to a bad market, both
for the sale of her peltries, and the purchase of a return cargo.
He considered it to the interest of the company, therefore, that
he should proceed at once to the Sandwich islands ; there wait
the arrival of the annual vessel from New York, take passage
in her to Astoria, and suffer the Beaver to continue on to
Canton.

On the other hand, he was urged to the other course by his
engagements ; by the plan of the voyage marked out for the
Beaver, by Mr. Astor ; by his inclination, and the possibility
that the establishment might need his presence, and by the
recollection that there must already be a large amount of pel
tries collected at Astoria, and waiting for the return of the
Beaver, to convey them to market.

These conflicting questions perplexed and agitated his mind,
and gave rise to much anxious reflection, for he was a consci
entious man that seems ever to have aimed at a faithful dis
charge of his duties, and to have had the interests of his
employers earnestly at heart. His decision in the present
instance was injudicious, and proved unfortunate. It was,
to bear away for the Sandwich islands. He persuaded him
self that it was matter of necessity, and that the distressed
condition of the ship left him no other alternative ; but we
rather suspect he was so persuaded by the representations
of the timid captain. They accordingly stood for the Sand
wich islands, arrived at Woahoo, where the ship underwent
the necessary repairs, and again put to sea on the 1st of Jan
uary, 1813 ; leaving Mr. Hunt on the island.

VOL. n. 20

230 THE BEAVER AT CANTON.

We will follow the Beaver to Canton, as her fortunes, in
some measure, exemplify the evil of commanders of ships
acting contrary to orders ; and as they form a part of the tissue
of cross purposes that marred the great commercial enterprise,
we have undertaken to record.

The Beaver arrived safe at Canton, where Captain Sowle
found the letter of Mr. Astor, giving him information of the
war, and directing him to convey the intelligence to Astoria.
He wrote a reply, dictated either by timidity or obstinacy,
in which he declined complying with the orders of Mr. Astor,
but said he would wait for the return of peace, and then come
home. The other proceedings of Captain Sowle were equally
wrong headed and unlucky. He was offered one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars for the fur he had taken on board at St.
Paul's. The goods for which it had been procured, cost but
twenty-five thousand dollars in New York. Had he accepted
this offer, and re-invested the amount in nankeens, which at
that time, in consequence of the interruption to commerce by
the war, were at two thirds of their usual price, the whole
would have brought three hundred thousand dollars in New
York. It is true, the war would have rendered it unsafe to
attempt the homeward voyage, but he might have put the
goods in store at Canton, until after the peace, and have
sailed without risk of capture to Astoria ; bringing to the
partners at that place tidings of the great profits realized on
the outward cargo, and the still greater to be expected from
the returns. The news of such a brilliant commencement to
their undertaking would have counterbalanced the gloomy
tidings of the war ; it would have infused new spirit into them
all, and given them courage and constancy to persevere in the
enterprise. Captain Sowle, however, refused the offer of one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and stood wavering and

WANDERING VOYAGES OF MR. HUNT. 231

chaffering for higher terms. The furs began to fall in value ;
this only increased his irresolution ; they sunk so much that
he feared to sell at all ; he borrowed money on Mr. Astor's
account at an interest of eighteen per cent, and laid up his
ship to await the return of peace.

In the meanwhile, Mr. Hunt soon saw reason to repent
the resolution he had adopted in altering the destination of the
ship. His stay at the Sandwich islands was prolonged far
beyond all expectation. He looked in vain for the annual
ship in the spring. Month after month passed by, and still
she did not make her appearance. He, too, proved the danger
of departing from orders. Had he returned from St. Paul's
to Astoria, all the anxiety and despondency about his fate, and
about the whole course of the undertaking, would have been
obviated. The Beaver would have received the furs collected
at the factory, and taken them to Canton, and great gains,
instead of great losses, would have heen the result. The
greatest blunder, however, was that committed by Captain
Sowle.

At length, about the 20th of June, the ship Albatross, Cap
tain Smith, arrived from China, and brought the first tidings
of the war to the Sandwich islands. Mr. Hunt was no longer
in doubt and perplexity as to the reason of the non-appearance
of the annual ship. His first thoughts were for the welfare
of Astoria, and, concluding that the inhabitants would probably
be in want of provisions, he chartered the Albatross for two
thousand dollars, to land him, with some supplies, at the mouth
of the Columbia, where he arrived, as we have seen, on the
20th of August, after a year's sea-faring that might have fur
nished a chapter in the wanderings of Sinbad.

232 ARRANGEMENTS AT ASTORIA.

CHAPTER XXVIil.

ARRANGEMENTS AMONG THE PARTNERS — MR. HUNT SAILS IN THE ALBATROSS

ARRIVES AT THE MARQUESAS NEWS OF THE FRIGATE PHOEBE MR.

H0NT PROCEEDS TO THE SANDWICH ISLANDS TOTAGE OF THE LARK

HER SHIPWRECK TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES OF THE SANDWICH

ISLANDS CONDUCT OF TAMAAHHAAH.

MR. HUNT was overwhelmed with surprise when he learnt the
resolution taken by the partners to abandon Astoria. He soon
found, however, that matters had gone too far, and the minds
of his colleagues had become too firmly bent upon the measure,
to render any opposition of avail. He was beset, too, with the
same disparaging accounts of the interior trade, and of the
whole concerns and prospects of the company that had been
rendered to Mr. Astor. His own experience had been full of
perplexities and discouragements. He had a conscientious
anxiety for the interests of Mr. Astor, and, not comprehending
the extended views of that gentleman, and his habit of operating
with great amounts, he had from the first been daunted by the
enormous expenses required, and had become disheartened by
the subsequent losses sustained, which appeared to him to be
ruinous in their magnitude. By degrees, therefore, he was
brought to acquiesce in the step taken by his colleagues, as
perhaps advisable in the exigencies of the case ; his only care
was to wind up the business with as little further loss as
possible to Mr. Astor.

FURTHER ARRANGEMENTS. 233

A large stock of valuable furs was collected at the factory,
which it was necessary to get to a market. There were
twenty-five Sandwich islanders also in the employ of the
company, whom they were bound by express agreement to
restore to their native country. For these purposes a ship
was necessary.

The Albatross was bound to the Marquesas, and thence to
the Sandwich islands. It was resolved that Mr. Hunt should
sail in her in quest of a vessel, and should return, if possible,
by the 1st of January, bringing with him a supply of provi
sions. Should any thing occur, however, to prevent his return,
an arrangement was to be proposed to Mr. M'Tavish, to trans
fer such of the men as were so disposed, from the service of
the American Fur Company into that of the North-west, the
latter becoming responsible for the wages due them, on receiv
ing an equivalent in goods from the storehouse of the factory.
As a means of facilitating the despatch of business, Mr. M'Dou-
gal proposed, that in case Mr. Hunt should not return, the
whole arrangement with Mr. M'Tavish should be left solely
to him. This was assented to ; the contingency being consi
dered possible, but not probable.

It is proper to note, that, on the first announcement by Mr.
M'Dougal of his intention to break up the establishment, three
of the clerks, British subjects, had, with his consent, passed
into the service of the North-west Company, and departed with
Mr. M'Tavish for his post in the interior.

Having arranged all these matters during a sojourn of six
days at Astoria, Mr. Hunt set sail in the Albatross on the 26th
of August, and arrived, without accident at the Marquesas.
He had not been there long, when Porter arrived in the frigate
Essex, bringing in a number of stout London whalers as prizes,

having made a sweeping cruize in the Pacific. From Com-

20*

234 FRUITLESS EXPEDIENTS.

inodore Porter he received the alarming intelligence that the
British frigate Phoebe, with a storeship, mounted with battering
pieces, calculated to attack forts, had arrived at Rio Janeiro,
where she had been joined by the sloops of war Cherub and
Racoon, and that they had all sailed in company on the 6th of
July for the Pacific, bound, as it was supposed, to Columbia
river.

Here, then, was the death-warrant of unfortunate Astoria !
The anxious mind of Mr. Hunt was in greater perplexity than
ever. He had been eager to extricate the property of Mr.
Astor from a failing concern with as little loss as possible ;
there was now danger that the whole would be swallowed up.
How was it to be snatched from the gulf? It was impossible
to charter a ship for the purpose, now that a British squadron
was on its way to the river. He applied to purchase one of
the whale ships brought in by Commodore Porter. The com
modore demanded twenty-five thousand dollars for her. The
price appeared exorbitant, and no bargain could be made. Mr.
Hunt then urged the commodore to fit out one of his prizes,
and send her to Astoria, to bring off the property and part of
the people, but he declined, " from want of authority." He
assured Mr. Hunt, however, that he would endeavor to fall in
with the enemy, or, should he hear of their having certainly
gone to the Columbia, he would either follow or anticipate
them, should his circumstances warrant such a step.

In this tantalizing state of suspense, Mr. Hunt was detained
at the Marquesas until November 23d, when he proceeded in
the Albatross to the Sandwich islands. He still cherished a
faint hope that, notwithstanding the war, and all other discou
raging circumstances, the annual ship might have been sent
by Mr. Astor, and might have touched at the islands, and pro
ceeded to the Columbia. He knew the pride and interest

WRECK OF THE LARK. 235

taken by that gentleman in his great enterprise, and that he
would not be deterred by dangers and difficulties from pro
secuting it ; much less would he leave the infant establishment
without succor and support in the time of trouble. In this, we
have seen, he did but justice to Mr. Astor ; and we must now
turn to notice the cause of the non-arrival of the vessel which
he had despatched with reinforcements and supplies. Her
voyage forms another chapter of accidents in this eventful
story.

The Lark sailed from New York on the 6th of March, 1813,
and proceeded prosperously on her voyage, until within a few
degrees of the Sandwich islands. Here a gale sprang up that
soon blew with tremendous violence. The Lark was a stanch
and noble ship, and for a time buffeted bravely with the storm.
Unluckily, however, she " broached to," and was struck by a
heavy sea, that hove her on her beam ends. The helm, too,
was knocked to leeward, all command of the vessel was lost,
and another mountain wave completely overset her. Orders
were given to cut away the masts. In the hurry and confusion,
the boats also were unfortunately cut adrift. The wreck then
righted, but was a mere hulk, full of water, with a heavy sea
washing over it, and all the hatches off. On mustering the
crew, one man was missing, who was discovered below in the
forecastle, drowned.

In cutting away the masts, it had been utterly impossible to
observe the necessary precaution of commencing with the lee
rigging, that being, from the position of the ship, completely
under water. The masts and spars, therefore, being linked to
the wreck by the shrouds and rigging, remained alongside for
four days. Duriiag all this time, the ship lay rolling in the
trough of the sea, the heavy surges breaking over her, and the
spars heaving and banging to and fro, bruising the half-drowned

236 DISTRESS OP THE CHEW.

sailors that clung to the bowsprit and the stumps of the masts.
The sufferings of these poor fellows were intolerable. They
stood to their waists in water, in imminent peril of being
washed off by every surge. In this position they dared not
sleep, lest they should let go their hold and be swept away.
The only dry place on the wreck was the bowsprit. Here
they took turns to be tied on, for half an hour at a time, and in
this way gained short snatches of sleep.

On the 14th, the first mate died at his post, and was swept
off by the surges. On the 17th, two seamen, faint and ex
hausted, were washed overboard. The next wave threw their
bodies back upon the deck, where they remained, swashing
backward and forward, ghastly objects to the almost perishing
survivors. Mr. Ogden, the supercargo, who was at the bow
sprit, called to the men nearest to the bodies, to fasten them to
the wreck ; as a last horrible resource in case of being driven
to extremity by famine !

On the 17th, the gale gradually subsided, and the sea be
came calm. The sailors now crawled feebly about the wreck,
and began to relieve it from the main incumbrances. The
spars were cleared away, the anchors and guns heaved over
board ; the spritsail yard was rigged for a jurymast, and a
mizen topsail set upon it. A sort of stage was made of a few
broken spars, on which the Crew were raised above the surface
of the water, so as to be enabled to keep themselves dry, and
to sleep comfortably. Still their sufferings from hunger and
thirst were great ; but there was a Sandwich islander on board,
an expert swimmer, who found his way into the cabin, and
occasionally brought up a few bottles of wine and porter, and
at length got into the run, and secured a quarter cask of wine.
A little raw pork was likewise procured, and dealt out with a
sparing hand. The horrors of their situation were increased

SUFFERINGS OF THE CREW. 237

by the sight of numerous sharks prowling about the wreck, as
if waiting for their prey. On the 24th, the cook, a black man,
died and was cast into the sea, when he was instantly seized
on by these ravenous monsters.

They had been several days making slow, headway under
their scanty sail, when, on the 25th, they came in sight of
land. It was about fifteen leagues distant, and they remained
two or three days drifting along in sight of it. On the 28th,
they descried, to their great transport, a canoe approaching,
managed by natives. They came alongside, and brought a
most welcome supply of potatoes. They informed them that
the land they had made was one of the Sandwich islands.
The second mate and one of the seamen went on shore in the
canoe for water and provisions, and to procure aid from the
islanders in towing the wreck into a harbor.

Neither of the men returned, nor was any assistance sent
from shore. The next day, ten or twelve canoes came along
side, but roamed round the wreck like so many sharks, and
would render no aid in towing her to land.

The sea continued to break over the vessel with such vio
lence, that it was impossible to stand at the helm without the
assistance of lashings. The crew were now so worn down by
famine and thirst, that the captain saw it would be impossible
for them to withstand the breaking of the sea, when the ship
should ground; he deemed the only chance for their lives,
therefore, was to get to land in the canoes, and stand ready to
receive and protect the wreck when she should drift to shore.
Accordingly, they all got safe to land, but had scarcely touched
the beach when they were surrounded by the natives, who
stripped them almost naked. The name of this inhospitable
island was Tahoorowa.

In the course of the night, the wreck came drifting to the

238 BARGAIN WITH TAMAAHMAAH.

strand, with the surf thundering around her, and shortly after
wards bilged. On the following morning, numerous casks of
provisions floated on shore. The natives staved them for the
sake of the iron hoops, but would not allow the crew to help
themselves to the contents, or to go on board of the wreck.

As the crew were in want of every thing, and as it might be
a long time before any opportunity occurred for them to get
away from these islands, Mr. Ogden, as soon as he could get
a chance, made his way to the island of Owyhee, and endea
vored to make some arrangement with the king for the relief
of his companions in misfortune.

The illustrious Tamaahmaah, as we have shown on a former
occasion, was a shrewd bargainer, and in the present instance
proved himself an experienced wrecker. His negotiations
with M'Dougal, and the other " Eris of the great American Fur
Company," had but little effect on present circumstances, and
he proceeded to avail himself of their misfortunes. He agreed
to furnish the crew with provisions during their stay in his
territories, and to return to them all their clothing that could
be found, but he stipulated that the wreck should be abandoned
to him as a waif cast by fortune on his shores. With these
conditions Mr. Ogden was fain to comply. Upon this the
great Tamaahmaah deputed his favorite, John Young, the tar-
pawlin governor of Owyhee, to proceed with a number of the
royal guards, and take possession of the wreck on behalf of
the crown. This was done accordingly, and the property and
crew were removed to Owyhee. The royal bounty appears to
have been but scanty in its dispensations. The crew fared
but meagerly ; though, on reading the journal of the voyage, it
is singular to find them, after all the hardships they had suf
fered, so sensitive about petty inconveniences, as to exclaim
against the king as a " savage monster," for refusing them a

MR. HUNT SAILS FOR ASTORIA. 239

" pot to cook in," and denying Mr. Ogden the use of a knife
and fork which had been saved from the wreck.

Such was the unfortunate catastrophe of the Lark ; had she
reached her destination in safety, affairs at Astoria might have
taken a different course. A strange fatality seems to have
attended all the expeditions by sea, nor were those by land
much less disastrous.

Captain Northrop was still at the Sandwich islands, on De
cember 20th, when Mr. Hunt arrived. The latter immediately
purchased, for ten thousand dollars, a brig called the Pedlar,
and put Captain Northrop in command of her. They set sail
for Astoria on the 22d January, intending to remove the pro
perty from thence as speedily as possible to the Russian settle
ments on the north-west coast, to prevent it from falling into
the hands of the British. Such were the orders of Mr. Astor,
sent out by the Lark.

We will now leave Mr. Hunt on his voyage, and return to
see what has taken place at Astoria during his absence.

* BraB.db ury. P. 6
* Breckenridge.

240 SQUADRON OF NORTH-WESTERS.

CHAPTER XXIX.

ARRIVAL OF M'TAVISH AT ASTORIA — CONDUCT OF HIS FOLLOWERS — NE
GOTIATIONS OP M'DOUGAL AND M'TAVISH BARGAIN FOR THE TRANSFER

OF ASTORIA — DOUBTS ENTERTAINED OF THE LOYALTY OF M'DOUGAL.

ON the 2d of October, about five weeks after Mr. Hunt had
sailed in the Albatross from Astoria, Mr. M'Kenzie set off
with two canoes, and twelve men, for the posts of Messrs.
Stuart and Clarke, to apprize them of the new arrangements
determined upon in the recent conference of the partners at
the factory.

He had not ascended the river a hundred miles, when he
met a squadron of ten canoes, sweeping merrily down under
British colors, the Canadian oarsmen, as usual, in full song.

It was an armament fitted out by M'Tavish, wlio had with
him Mr. J. Stuart, another partner of the Nortn-west Company,
together with some clerks, and sixty eight men — seventy-five
souls in all. They had heard of the frigate Phoebe and the
Isaac Todd being on the high seas, and were on their way
down to await their arrival. In one of the canoes Mr. Clarke
came passenger, the alarming intelligence having brought
him down from his post on the Spokan. Mr. M'Kenzie im
mediately determined to return with him to Astoria, and, veer
ing about, the two parties encamped together for the night.
The leaders, of course, observed a due decorum; but some

ARRIVAL AT ASTORIA. 241

of the subalterns could not restrain their chuckling exulta
tion, boasting that they would soon plant the British standard
on the walls of Astoria, and drive the Americans out of the
country.

In the course of the evening, Mr. M'Kenzie had a secret
conference with Mr. Clarke, in which they agreed to set off
privately, before daylight, and get down in time to apprize
M'Dougal of the approach of these North-westers. The latter,
however, were completely on the alert ; just as M'Kenzie's
canoes were about to push off, they were joined by a couple
from the north-west squadron, in which was M'Tavish, with
two clerks, and eleven men. With these, he intended to push
forward and make arrangements, leaving the rest of the con
voy, in which was a large quantity of furs, to await his orders.

The two parties arrived at Astoria on the 7th of October.
The North-westers encamped under the guns of the fort, and
displayed the British colors. The young men in the fort,
natives of the United States, were on the point of hoisting
the American flag, but were forbidden by Mr. M'Dougal.
They were astonished at such a prohibition, and were exceed
ingly galled by the tone and manner assumed by the clerks
and retainers of the North-west Company, who ruffled about
in that swelling and braggart style which grows up among
these heroes of the wilderness ; they, in fact, considered them
selves lords of the ascendant, and regarded the hampered and
harassed Astorians as a conquered people.

On the following day M'Dougal convened the clerks, and
read to them an extract of a letter from his uncle, Mr. Angus
Shaw, one of the principal partners of the North-west Com
pany, announcing the coming of the Phoebe and Isaac Todd,
" to take and destroy every thing American on the north-west

coast."

VOL. n. 21

242 BARGAIN WITH THE NORTH-WESTERS.

This intelligence was received without dismay by such of
the clerks as were natives of the United States. They had
felt indignant at seeing their national flag struck by a Canadian
commander, and the British flag flowed, as it were, in their
faces. They had been stung to the quick, also, by the vaunt
ing airs assumed by the North-westers. In this mood of mind,
they would willingly have nailed their colors to the staff, and
defied the frigate. She could not come within many miles
of the fort, they observed, and any boats she might send could
be destroyed by their cannon.

There were cooler and more calculating spirits, however,
who had the control of affairs, and felt nothing of the patriotic
pride and indignation of these youths. The extract of the
letter had, apparently, been read by M'Dougal, merely to pre
pare the way for a preconcerted stroke of management. On
that same day Mr. M'Tavish proposed to purchase the whole
stock of goods and furs belonging to the company, both at
Astoria and in the interior, at cost and charges. Mr. M'Dougal
undertook to comply ; assuming the whole management of the
negotiation in virtue of the power vested in him, in case of the
non-arrival of Mr. Hunt. That power, however, was limited
and specific, and did not extend to an operation of this nature
and extent ; no objection, however, was made to his assump
tion, and he and M'Tavish soon made a preliminary arrange
ment, perfectly satisfactory to the latter.

Mr. Stuart, and the reserve party of North-westers, arrived
shortly afterwards, and encamped with M'Tavish. The former
exclaimed loudly against the terms of the arrangement, and
insisted upon a reduction of the prices. New negotiations had
now to be entered into. The demands of the North-westers
were made in a peremptory tone, and they seemed disposed
to dictate like conquerors. The Americans looked on with

CONDUCT OF M'DOUGAL. 243

indignation and impatience. They considered M'Dougal as
acting, if not a perfidious, certainly a craven part. He was
continually repairing to the camp to negotiate, instead of keep
ing within his walls and receiving overtures in his fortress.
His case, they observed, was not so desperate as to excuse
such crouching. He might, in fact, hold out for his own
terms. The north-west party had lost their ammunition ; they
had no goods to trade with the natives for provisions ; and
were so destitute that" M'Dougal had absolutely to feed them,
while he negotiated with them. He, on the contrary, was
well lodged and victualled ; had sixty men, with arms, ammuni
tion, boats, and every thing requisite either for defence or
retreat. The party, beneath the guns of his fort, were at his
mercy ; should an enemy appear in the offing, he could pack
up the most valuable part of the property and retire to some
place of concealment, or make off for the interior.

These considerations, however, had no weight with Mr.
M'Dougal, or were overruled by other motives. The terms
of sale were lowered by him to the standard fixed by Mr.
Stuart, and an agreement executed on the 16th of October,
by which the furs and merchandise of all kinds in the
country, belonging to Mr. Astor, passed into the possession
of the North-west Company at about a third of their real
value.* A safe passage through the north-west posts was

* Not quite $40,000 were allowed for furs worth upwards of $100,000.
Beaver was valued at two dollars per skin, though worth five dollars. Land
otter at fifty cents, though worth five dollars. Sea otter at twelve dollars,
worth from forty-five to sixty dollars ; and for several kinds of furs nothing
was allowed. Moreover, the goods and merchandise for the Indian trade
ought to have brought three times the amount for which they were sold.

The following estimate has been made of the articles on hand, and the
prices : —

17,705 Ibs. beaver parchment, valued at $2,00 worth $5,00
465 old coat beaver, . . " " 1,66 " 3,50

244

TRANSFER OF THE PROPERTY.

guaranteed to such as did not choose to enter into the service
of that company, and the amount of wages due to them was
to be deducted from the price paid for Astoria.

The conduct and motives of Mr. M'Dougal, throughout the
whole of this proceeding, have been strongly questioned by the
other partners. He has been accused of availing himself of
a wrong construction of powers vested in him at his own
request, and of sacrificing the interests of Mr. Astor to the
North-west Company, under the promise or hope of advantage
to himself.

He always insisted, however, that he made the best bargain
for Mr. Astor that circumstances would permit; the frigate
being hourly expected, in which case the whole property of
that gentleman would be liable to capture. That the return
of Hr. Hunt was problematical ; the frigate intending to cruise
along the coast for two years, and clear it of all American
vessels. He moreover averred, and M'Tavish corroborated
his averment by certificate, that he proposed an arrangement
to that gentleman, by which the furs were to be sent to Canton,
and sold there at Mr. Astor's risk, and for his account ; but the
proposition was not acceded to.

Notwithstanding all his representations, several of the per
sons present at the transaction, and acquainted with the whole

907 land otter,
68 sea otter,
30 " "

Nothing was allowed for
179 mink skins,
22 raccoon,
38 lynx,
18 fox,
106 "

71 black bear,
16 grizzly bear,

valued at

worth each

,50

worth $5,00

12,00

" 45 to 60,00

5,00

" 25,00

.

. . ,40

.

,40

.

2,00

.

1,00

.

1,50

.

4,00

.

. 10,00

OPINION OF MR. ASTOR. 245

course of the affair, arid among the number Mr. M'Kenzie him
self, his occasional coadjutor, remained firm in the belief that
he had acted a hollow part. Neither did he succeed in excul
pating himself to Mr. Astor ; that gentleman declaring, in a
letter written some time afterwards, to Mr. Hunt, that he con
sidered the property virtually given away. " Had our place
and our property," he adds, " been fairly captured, I should
have preferred it. I should not feel as if I were disgraced."

All these may be unmerited suspicions ; but it certainly is a
circumstance strongly corroborative of them, that Mr. M'Dougal,
shortly after concluding this agreement, became a member of
the North-west Company, and received a share productive
of a handsome income.

21*

246 ARRIVAL OF A SAIL AT ASTORIA.

CHAPTER XXX.

ARRIVAL OF A STRANGE SAIL — AGITATION AT ASTORIA — WARLIKE OFFER
OF CoMCOMLY ASTORIA TAKEN POSSESSION OF BY THE BRITISH IN
DIGNATION OF COMCOMLY AT THE CONDUCT OF HIS SON-IN-LAW.

ON the morning of the 30th of November, a sail was descried
doubling Cape Disappointment. It came to anchor in Baker's
bay, and proved to be a ship of war. Of what nation ? was
now the anxious inquiry. If English, why did it come alone ?
where was the merchant vessel that was to have accompanied
it ? If American, what was to become of the newly acquired
possession of the North-west Company ?

In this dilemma, M'Tavish, in all haste, loaded two barges
with all the packages of furs bearing the mark of the North
west Company, and made off for Tongue point, three miles
up the river. There he was to await a preconcerted signal
from M'Dougal, on ascertaining the character of the ship.
If it should prove American, M'Tavish would have a fair
start, and could bear off his rich cargo to the interior. It is
singular that this prompt mode of conveying valuable, but
easily transportable effects, beyond the reach of a hostile ship,
should not have suggested itself while the property belonged
to Mr. Astor.

In the meantime, M'Dougal, who still remained nominal
chief at the fort, launched a canoe, manned by men recently

THE RACOON SLOOP OF WAR. 247

in the employ of the American Fur Company, and steered for
the ship. On the way, he instructed his men to pass them
selves for Americans or Englishmen, according to- the exigen
cies of the case.

The vessel proved to be the British sloop of war Racoon,
of twenty-six guns, and one hundred and twenty men, com
manded by Captain Black. According to the account of that
officer, the frigate Phoebe, and the two sloops of war Cherub
and Racoon, had sailed in convoy of the Isaac Todd from
Rio Janeiro. On board of the Phoebe, Mr. John M'Donald,
a partner of the North-west Company, embarked as passenger,
to profit by the anticipated catastrophe at Astoria. The con
voy was separated by stress of weather off Cape Horn. The
three shipe of war came together again at the island of Juan
Fernandez, their appointed rendezvous, but waited in vain for
the Isaac Todd.

In the meantime, intelligence was received of the mischief
that Commodore Porter was doing among the British whale
ships. Commodore Hillyer immediately set sail in quest of him,
with the Phoebe and the Cherub, transferring Mr. M'Donald
to the Racoon, and ordering that vessel to proceed to the
Columbia.

The officers of the Racoon were in high spirits. The
agents of the North-west Company, in instigating the expedi
tion, had talked of immense booty to be made by the fortunate
captors of Astoria. Mr. M'Donald had kept up the excitement
during the voyage, so that not a midshipman but revelled in
dreams of ample prize-money, nor a lieutenant that would
have sold his chance for a thousand pounds. Their disap
pointment, therefore, may easily be conceived, when they
learned that their warlike attack upon Astoria had been fore
stalled by a snug commercial arrangement ; that their antici-

248 INDIAN PREPARATIONS.

pated booty had become British property in the regular course
of traffic, and that all this had been effected by the very
company which had been instrumental in getting them sent
on what they now stigmatized as a fool's errand. They felt
•as if they had been duped and made tools of, by a set of
shrewd men of traffic, who had employed them to crack the
nut, while they carried off the kernel. In a word, M'Dougal
found himself so ungraciously received by his countrymen on
board of the ship, that he was glad to cut short his visit, and
return to shore. He was busy at the fort, making prepara
tions for the reception of the captain of the Racoon, when his
one-eyed Indian father-in-law made his appearance, with a
train of Chinook warriors, all painted and equipped in war
like style.

Old Comcomly had beheld, with dismay, the arrival of a
"big war canoe" displaying the British flag. The shrewd
old savage had become something of a politician in the course
of his daily visits at the fort. He knew of the war existing
between the nations, but knew nothing of the arrangement
between M'Dougal and M'Tavish. He trembled, therefore,
for the power of his white son-in-law, and the new fledged
grandeur of his daughter, and assembled his warriors in all
haste. "King George," said he, "has sent his great canoe
to destroy the fort, and make slaves of all the inhabitants.
Shall we suffer it ? The Americans are the first white men
that have fixed themselves in the land. They have treated
us like brothers. Their great chief has taken my daughter
to be his squaw : we are, therefore, as one people."

His warriors all determined to stand by the Americans to
the last, and to this effect they came painted and armed for
battle. Comcomly made a spirited war speech to his son-in-
law. He offered to kill every one of King George's men that

LANDING OF CAPT. BLACK. 249

should attempt to land. It was an easy matter. The ship
could not approach within six miles of the fort ; the crew
could only land in boats. The woods reached to the water's
edge ; in these, he and his warriors would conceal them
selves, and shoot down the enemy as fast as they put foot on
shore.

M'Dougal was, doubtless, properly sensible of this parental
devotion on the part of his savage father-in-law, and perhaps
a little rebuked by the game spirit, so opposite to his own.
He assured Comcomly, however, that his solicitude for the
safety of himself and the princess was superfluous ; as, though
the ship belonged to King George, her crew would not injure
the Americans, or their Indian allies. He advised him and
his warriors, therefore, to lay aside their weapons and war
shirts, wash off the paint from their faces and bodies, and
appear like clean and civil savages, to receive the strangers
courteously.

Comcomly was sorely puzzled at this advice, which ac
corded so little with his Indian notions of receiving a hostile
nation ; and it was only after repeated and positive assurances
of the amicable intentions of the strangers that he was induced
to lower his fighting tone. He said something to his warriors
explanatory of this singular posture of affairs, and in vindica
tion, perhaps, of the pacific temper of his son-in-law. They
all gave a shrug and an Indian grunt of acquiescence, and
went off sulkily to their village, to lay aside their weapons
for the present.

The proper arrangements being made for the reception of
Captain Black, that officer caused his ship's boats to be man
ned, and landed with befitting state at Astoria. From the talk
that had been made by the North-west Company, of the
strength of the place, and the armament they had required to

250 HE TAKES POSSESSION OF ASTORIA.

assist in its reduction, he expected to find a fortress of some
importance. When he beheld nothing but stockades and
bastions, calculated for defence against naked savages, he felt
an emotion of indignant surprise, mingled with something of
the ludicrous. " Is this the fort," cried he, " about which I
have heard so much talking ? D — n me, but I'd batter it down
in two hours, with a four pounder !"

When he learned, however, the amount of rich furs that had
been passed into the hands of the North-westers, he was out
rageous, and insisted that an inventory should be taken of all
the property purchased of the Americans, "with a view to
ulterior measures in England, for the recovery of the value
from the North-west Company."

As he grew cool, however, he gave over all idea of pre
ferring such a claim, and reconciled himself, as well as he
could, to the idea of having been forestalled by his bargaining
coadjutors.

On the 12th of December, the fate of Astoria was consum
mated by a regular ceremonial. Captain Black, attended by
his officers, entered the fort, caused the British standard to
be erected, broke a bottle of wine, and declared, in a loud
voice, that he took possession of the establishment and of the
country, in the name of his Britannic majesty, changing the
name of Astoria to that of Fort George.

The Indian warriors, who had offered their services to repel
the strangers, were present on this occasion. It was explained
to them as being a friendly arrangement and transfer, but they
shook their heads grimly, and considered it an act of subjuga
tion of their ancient allies. They regretted that they had
complied with M'Dougal's wishes, in laying aside their arms,
and remarked, that, however the Americans might conceal the
fact, they were undoubtedly all slaves ; nor could they be

MORTIFICATION OF COMCOMLY. 251

persuaded of the contrary, until they beheld the Racoon depart
without taking away any prisoners.

As to Comcomly, he no longer prided himself upon his
white son-in-law, but, whenever he was asked about him,
shook his head, and replied, that his daughter had made a
mistake, and, instead of getting a great warrior for a husband,
had married herself to a squaw.

252 ARRIVAL OF MR. HUNT IN THE PEDLAR.

CHAPTER XXXI.

ARRIVAL or THE BRIO PKDLAB AT ASTORIA — BREAKING UP OF THE ESTAB
LISHMENT DEPARTURE OF SEVERAL OF THE COMPANY TRAGICAL STORY

TOLD BY THE SQUAW OF PlERRE DoRION FATE OF REED AND HIS COM
PANIONS ATTEMPTS OF MR. AsTOR TO RENEW HIS ENTERPRISE DISAP
POINTMENT CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

HAVING given the catastrophe at the fort of Astoria, it remains
now but to gather up a few loose ends of this widely excursive
narrative, and conclude. On the 28th of February, the brig
Pedlar anchored in Columbia river. It will be recollected that
Mr. Hunt had purchased this vessel at the Sandwich islands,
to take off the furs collected at the factory, and to restore the
Sandwich islanders to their homes. When that gentleman
learned, however, the precipitate and summary manner in which
the property had been bargained away by Mr. M'Dougal, he
expressed his indignation in the strongest terms, and deter
mined to make an effort to get back the furs. As soon as his
wishes were known in this respect, M'Dougal came to sound
him on behalf of the North-west Company, intimating that he
had no doubt the peltries might be repurchased at an advance
of fifty per cent. This overture was not calculated to sooth
the angry feelings of Mr. Hunt, and his indignation was com
plete, when he discovered that M'Dougal had become a partner
of the North-west Company, and had actually been so since
the 23d of December. He had kept his partnership a secret,

HE CLOSES THE BUSINESS AT ASTORIA. 253

however ; had retained the papers of the Pacific Fur Company
in his possession ; and had continued to act as Mr. Astor's
agent, though two of the partners of the other company, Mr.
M'Kenzie and Mr. Clarke, were present. He had, moreover,
divulged to his new associates all that he knew as to Mr.
Astor's plans and affairs, and had made copies of his business
letters for their perusal.

Mr. Hunt now considered the whole conduct of M'Dougal
hollow and collusive. His only thought was, therefore, to get
all the papers of the concern out of his hands, and bring the
business to a close ; for the interests of Mr. Astor were yet
completely at stake : the drafts of the North-west Company
in his favor, for the purchase money, not having yet been
obtained. With some difficulty he succeeded in getting pos
session of the papers. The bills or drafts were delivered
without hesitation. The latter he remitted to Mr. Astor by
some of his associates, who were about to cross the continent
to New York. This done, he embarked on board the Pedlar,
on the 3d of April, accompanied by two of the clerks, Mr.
Seton and Mr. Halsey, and bade a final adieu to Astoria.

The next day, April 4th, Messrs. Clarke, M'Kenzie, David
Stuart, and such of the Astorians as had not entered into the
service of the North-west Company, set out to cross the
Rocky mountains. It is not our intention to take the reader
another journey across those rugged barriers ; but we will step
forward with the travellers to a distance on their way, merely
to relate their interview with a character already noted in this
work.

As the party were proceeding up the Columbia, near the
mouth of the Wallah-Wallah river, several Indian canoes put
off from the shore to overtake them, and a voice called upon

them in French, and requested them to stop. They accord-
VOL. n. 22

254 STORY OF JOHN KEED AND HIS PARTY.

ingly put to shore, and were joined by those in the canoes.
To their surprise, they recognised in the person who had
hailed them the Indian wife of Pierre Dorion, accompanied by
her two children. She had a story to tell, involving the fate
of several of our unfortunate adventurers.

Mr. John Reed, the Hibernian, it will be remembered, had
been detached during the summer to the Snake river. His
party consisted of four Canadians, Gilles Le Clerc, Francois
Landry, Jean Baptiste Turcot, and Andre La Chapelle, togeth
er with two hunters, Pierre Dorion and Pierre Delaunay ;
Dorion, as usual, being accompanied by his wife and children.
The objects of this expedition were twofold : to trap beaver,
and to search for the three hunters, Robinson, Hoback, and
Rezner.

In the course of the autumn, Reed lost one man, Landry,
by death ; another one, Pierre Delaunay, who was of a sullen,
perverse disposition, left him in a moody fit, and was never
heard of afterwards. The number of his party was not, how
ever, reduced by these losses, as the three hunters, Robinson,
Hoback, and Rezner, had joined it.

Reed now built a house on the Snake river, for their winter
quarters ; which being completed, the party set about trapping.
Rezner, Le Clerc, and Pierre Dorion, went about five days'
journey from the wintering house, to a part of the country
well stocked with beaver. Here they put up a hut, and pro
ceeded to trap with great success. While the men were out
hunting, Pierre Dorion's wife remained at home to dress the
skins and prepare the meals. She was thus employed one
evening about the beginning of January, cooking the supper of
the hunters, when she heard footsteps, and Le Clerc stagger
ed, pale and bleeding, into the hut. He informed her that
a party of savages had surprised them, while at their traps,

INTREPIDITY OF PIERRE DORION's WIFE. 255

and had killed Rezner and her husband. He had barely
strength left to give this information, when he sank upon the
ground.

The poor woman saw that the only chance for life was
instant flight, but, in this exigency, showed that presence of
mind and force of character for which she had frequently been
noted. With great difficulty, she caught two of the horses
belonging to the party. Then collecting her clothes, and a
small quantity of beaver meat and dried salmon, she packed
them upon one of the horses, and helped the wounded man to
mount upon it. On the other horse she mounted with her two
children, and hurried away from this dangerous neighborhood,
directing her flight for Mr. Reed's establishment. On the
third day, she descried a number of Indians on horseback pro
ceeding in an easterly direction. She immediately dismounted
with her children, and helped Le Clerc likewise to dismount,
and all concealed themselves. Fortunately they escaped the
sharp eyes of the savages, but had to proceed with the utmost
caution. That night, they slept without fire or water ; she
managed to keep her children warm in her arms ; but before
morning, poor Le Clerc died.

With the dawn of day, the resolute woman resumed her
course, and, on the fourth day, reached the house of Mr. Reed.
It was deserted, and all around were marks of blood and signs
of a furious massacre. Not doubting that Mr. Reed and his
party had all fallen victims, she turned in fresh horror from
the spot. For two days she continued hurrying forward, ready
to sink for want of food, but more solicitous about her children
than herself. At length she reached a range of the Rocky
mountains, near the upper part of the Wallah-Wallah river.
Here she chose a wild lonely ravine, as her place of winter
refuge.

256 REVENGE OF THE NEZ PERCYS.

She had fortunately a buffalo robe and three deer skins ; of
these, and of pine bark and cedar branches, she constructed a
rude wigwam, which she pitched beside a mountain spring.
Having no other food, she killed the two horses, and smoked
their flesh. The skins aided to cover her hut. Here she
dragged out the winter, with no other company than her two
children. Towards the middle of March, her provisions were
nearly exhausted. She therefore packed up the remainder,
slung it on her back, and, with her helpless little ones, set out
again on her wanderings. Crossing the ridge of mountains,
she descended to the banks of the Wallah- Wallah, and kept
along them until she arrived where that river throws itself into
the Columbia. She was hospitably received and entertained
by the Wallah- Wallahs, and had been nearly two weeks among
them, when the two canoes passed.

On being interrogated, she could assign no reason for this
murderous attack of the savages ; it appeared to be perfectly
wanton and unprovoked. Some of the Astorians supposed it
an act of butchery by a roving band of Blackfeet ; others, how
ever, and with greater probability of correctness, have ascribed
it to the tribe of Pierced-nose Indians, in revenge for the
death of their comrade hanged by order -of Mr. Clarke. If so,
it shows that these sudden and apparently wanton outbreakings
of sanguinary violence on the part of savages, have often
some previous, though perhaps remote, provocation.

The narrative of the Indian woman closes the checkered
adventures of some of the personages of this motley story ;
such as the honest Hibernian Reed, and Dorion the hybred
interpreter. Turcot and La Chapelle were two of the men
who fell off from Mr. Crooks in the course of his wintry
journey, and had subsequently such disastrous times among
the Indians. We cannot but feel some sympathy with that

INDIGNATION OF MR. ASTOR. 257

persevering trio of Kentuckians, Robinson, Rezner, and Ho-
back ; who twice turned back when on their way homeward,
and lingered in the wilderness to perish by the hands of
savages.

The return parties from Astoria, both by sea and land, ex
perienced on the way as many adventures, vicissitudes, and
mishaps, as the far-famed heroes of the Odyssey ; they reached
their destination at different times, bearing tidings to Mr. Astor
of the unfortunate termination of his enterprise.

That gentleman, however, was not disposed, even yet, to
give the matter up as lost. On the contrary, his spirit was
roused by what he considered ungenerous and unmerited con
duct on the part of the North-west Company. " After their
treatment of me," said he, in a letter to Mr. Hunt, " I have no
idea of remaining quiet and idle." He determined, there
fore, as soon as circumstances would permit, to resume his
enterprise.

At the return of peace, Astoria, with the adjacent country,
reverted to the United States by the treaty of Ghent, on the
principle of status ante bellum, and Captain Biddle was des
patched in the sloop of war Ontario, to take formal repos
session.

In the winter of 1815, a law was passed by congress,
prohibiting all traffic of British traders within the territories
of the United States.

The favorable moment seemed now to Mr. Astor to have
arrived for the revival of his favorite enterprise, but new
difficulties had grown up to impede it. The North-west
Company were now in complete occupation of the Columbia
river, and its chief tributary streams, holding the posts which
he had established, and carrying on a trade throughout the

neighboring region, in defiance of the prohibitory law of

22*

253 HIS APPLICATION TO GOVERNMENT.

congress, which, in effect, was a dead letter beyond the
mountains.

To dispossess them, would be an undertaking of almost a
belligerant nature ; for their agents and retainers were well
armed, and skilled in the use of weapons, as is usual with
Indian traders. The ferocious and bloody contests which had
taken place between the rival trading parties of the North-west
and Hudson's Bay Companies, had shown what might be
expected from commercial feuds in the lawless depths of the
wilderness. Mr. Astor did not think it advisable, therefore,
to attempt the matter without the protection of the American
flag; under which his people might rally in case of need.
He accordingly made an informal overture to the President
of the United States, Mr. Madison, through Mr. Gallatin.
offering to renew his enterprise, and to re-establish Astoria,
provided it would be protected by the American flag, and made
a military post ; stating that the whole force required would
not exceed a lieutenant's command.

The application, approved and recommended by Mr. Gal
latin, one of the most enlightened statesmen of our country,
was favorably received, but no step was taken in consequence ;
the president not being disposed, in all probability, to commit
himself by any direct countenance or overt act. Discouraged
by this supineness on the part of the government, Mr. Astor
did not think fit to renew his overtures in a more formal man
ner, and the favorable moment for the re-occupation of Astoria
was suffered to pass unimproved.

The British trading establishments were thus enabled, with
out molestation, to strike deep their roots, and extend their
ramifications, in despite of the prohibition of congress, until
they had spread themselves over the rich field of enterprise
opened by Mr. Astor. The British government soon began

NEGOTIATIONS RESPECTING ASTORIA. 259

to perceive the importance of this region, and to desire to
include it within their territorial domains. A question has
consequently risen as to the right to the soil, and has become
one of the most perplexing now open between the United
States and Great Britain. In the first treaty relative to it,
under date of October 20th, 1818, the question was left un
settled, and it was agreed that the country on the north-west
coast of America, westward of the Rocky mountains, claimed
by either nation, should be open to the inhabitants of both for
ten years, for the purposes of trade, with the equal right of
navigating all its rivers. When these ten years had expired,
a subsequent treaty, in 1828, extended the arrangement to ten
additional years. So the matter stands at present.

On casting back our eyes over the series of events we have
recorded, we see no reason to attribute the failure of this great
commercial undertaking to any fault in the scheme, or omis
sion in the execution of it, on the part of the projector. It
was a magnificent enterprise ; well concerted and carried on,
without regard to difficulties or expense. A succession of
adverse circumstances and cross purposes, however, beset it
almost from the outset ; some of them, in fact, arising from
neglect of the orders and instructions of Mr. Astor. The
first crippling blow was the loss of the Tonquin, which clearly
would not have happened, had Mr. Astor's earnest injunctions
with regard to the natives been attended to. Had this ship
performed her voyage prosperously, and revisited Astoria in
due time, the trade of the establishment would have taken its
preconcerted course, and the spirits of all concerned been
kept up by a confident prospect of success. Her dismal
catastrophe struck a chill into every heart, and prepared the
way for subsequent despondency.

Another cause of embarrassment and loss was the departure

260 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS.

from the plan of Mr. Astor, as to the voyage of the Beaver,
subsequent to her visiting Astoria. The variation from this
plan produced a series of cross purposes, disastrous to the
establishment, and detained Mr. Hunt absent from his post,
when his presence there was of vital importance to the enter
prise ; so essential is it for an agent, in any great and compli
cated undertaking, to execute faithfully, and to the letter, the
part marked out for him by the master mind which has
concerted the whole.

The breaking out of the war between the United States
and Great Britain, multiplied the hazards and embarrassments
of the enterprise. The disappointment as to convoy, rendered
it difficult to keep up reinforcements and supplies ; and the
loss of the Lark added to the tissue of misadventures.

That Mr. Astor battled resolutely against every difficulty,
and pursued his course in defiance of every loss, has been
sufficiently shown. Had he been seconded by suitable agents,
and properly protected by government, the ultimate failure of
his plan might yet have been averted. It was his great mis
fortune, that his agents were not imbued with his own spirit.
Some had not capacity sufficient to comprehend the real
nature and extent of his scheme ; others were alien in feeling
and interest, and had been brought up in the service of a rival
company. Whatever sympathies they might originally have
had with him, were impaired, if not destroyed, by the war.
They looked upon his cause as desperate, and only considered
how they might make interest to regain a situation under their
former employers. The absence of Mr. Hunt, the only real
representative of Mr. Astor, at the time of the capitulation
with the North-west Company, completed the series of cross
purposes. Had that gentleman been present, the transfer, in
all probability, would not have taken place.

CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 261

It is painful, at all times, to see a grand and beneficial
stroke of genius fail of its aim : but we regret the failure of
this enterprise in a national point of view ; for, had it been
crowned with success, it would have redounded greatly to the
advantage and extension of our commerce. The profits drawn
from the country in question by the British Fur Company,
though of ample amount, form no criterion by which to judge
of the advantages that would have arisen had it been entirely
in the hands of citizens of the United States. That company,
as has been shown, is limited in the nature and scope of its
operations, and can make but little use of the maritime faci
lities held out by an emporium and a harbor on that coast. In
our hands, beside the roving bands of trappers and traders, the
country would have been explored and settled by industrious
husbandmen ; and the fertile valleys bordering its rivers, and
shut up among its mountains, would have been made to pour
forth their agricultural treasures to contribute to the general
wealth.

In respect to commerce, we should have had a line of tra
ding posts from the Mississippi and the Missouri across the
Rocky mountains, forming a high road from the great regions
of the west to the shores of the Pacific. We should have had
a fortified post and port at the mouth of the Columbia, com
manding the trade of that river an^ its tributaries, and of a
wide extent of country and sea coast ; carrying on an active
and profitable commerce with the Sandwich islands, and a
direct and frequent communication with China. In a word,
Astoria might have realized the anticipations of Mr. Astor, so
well understood and appreciated by Mr. Jefferson, in gradually
becoming a commercial empire beyond the mountains, peopled
by "free and independent Americans, and linked with us by
ties of blood and interest."

262 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS.

We repeat, therefore, our sincere regret, that our govern
ment should have neglected the overture of Mr. Astor, and
suffered the moment to pass by, when full possession of this
region might have been taken quietly, as a matter of course,
and a military post established, without dispute, at Astoria.
Our statesmen have become sensible, when too late, of the
importance of this measure. Bills have repeatedly been
brought into Congress for the purpose, but without success ;
and our rightful possessions on that coast, as well as our trade
on the Pacific, have no rallying point protected by the national
flag, and by a military force.

In the meantime, the second period of ten years is fast
elapsing. In 1838, the question of title will again come up,
and most probably, in the present amicable state of our rela
tions with Great Britain, will be again postponed. Every
year, however, the litigated claim is growing in importance.
There is no pride so jealous and irritable as the pride of
territory. As one wave of emigration after another rolls into
the vast regions of the west, and our settlements stretch
towards the Rocky mountains, the eager eyes of our pioneers
will pry beyond, and they will become impatient of any barrier
or impediment in the way of what they consider a grand out
let of our empire. Should any circumstance, therefore, un
fortunately occur to disturb the present harmony of the two
nations, this ill-adjusted question, which now lies dormant, may
suddenly start up into one of belligerant import, and Astoria
become the watchword in a contest for dominion on the shores
of the Pacific.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

Draught of a petition to Congress, sent by Mr. Astor in 1812.

To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United

States, in congress assembled,
The petition of the American Fur Company respectfully sheweth :

That the trade with the several Indian tribes of North America, has, for
many years past, been almost exclusively carried on by the merchants of
Canada ; who, having formed powerful and extensive associations for that
purpose, being aided by British capital, and being encouraged by the favor
and protection of the British government, could not be opposed, with any
prospect of success by individuals of the United States.

That by means of the above trade, thus systematically pursued, not only
the inhabitants of the United States have been deprived of commercial profits
and advantages, to which they appear to have just and natural pretensions,
but a great and dangerous influence has been established over the Indian
tribes, difficult to be counteracted, and capable of being exerted at critical
periods, to the great injury and annoyance of our frontier settlements.

That in order to obtain at least a part of the above trade, and more par
ticularly that which is within the boundaries of the United States, your
petitioners, in the year 1808, obtained an act of incorporation from the state
of New York, whereby they are enabled, with a competent capital, to carry
on the said trade with the Indians in such manner as may be conformable to
the laws and regulations of the United States, in relation to such commerce.

That the capital mentioned in the said act, amounting to one million of
dollars, having been duly formed, your petitioners entered with zeal and
alacrity into those large and important arrangements, which were necessary
for, or conducive to, the object of their incorporation ; and, among other things,
purchased a great part of the stock in trade, and trading establishments, of
the Michilimackinac Company of Canada. — Your petitioners also, with the
expectation of great public and private advantage from the use of the said
establishments, ordered, during the spring and summer of 1810, an assort-
VOL. n. 23

266 APPENDIX.

raent of goods from England, suitable for the Indian trade ; which, in con
sequence of the president's proclamation of November of that year, were
shipped to Canada instead of New York, and have been transported, under
a very heavy expense, into the interior of the country. But as they could
not legally be brought into the Indian country within the boundaries of the
United States, they have been stored on the island of St. Joseph, in lake
Huron, where they now remain.

Your petitioners, with great deference and implicit submission to the
wisdom of the national legislature, beg leave to suggest for consideration,
whether they have not some claim to national attention and encour
agement, from the nature and importance of their undertaking; which,
though hazardous and uncertain as it concerns their private emolument,
must, at any rate, redound to the public security and advantage. If their
undertaking shall appear to be of the description given, they would further
suggest to your honorable bodies, that unless they can procure a regular
supply for the trade in which they are engaged, it may languish, and be
finally abandoned by American citizens ; when it will revert to its former
channel, with additional, and perhaps with irresistible, power.

Under these circumstances, and upon all those considerations of public
policy which will present themselves to your honorable bodies, in connexion
with those already mentioned, your petitioners respectfully pray that a law
may be passed to enable the president, or any of the heads of departments
acting under his authority, to grant permits for the introduction of goods
necessary for the supply of the Indians, into the Indian country that is within
the boundaries of the United States, under such regulations, and with such
restrictions, as may secure the public revenue and promote the public
welfare.

And your petitioners shall ever pray, &c.

In witness whereof, the common seal of the American Fur Company is
hereunto affixed, the day of March, 1812.

By order of the Corporation.

AN ACT to enable the American Fur Company, and other citizens, to
introduce goods necessary for the Indian trade into the territories within
the boundaries of the United States.

WHEREAS, the public peace and welfare require that the native Indian tribes,
residing within the boundaries of the United States, should receive their
necessary supplies under the authority and from the citizens of the United
States : Therefore, be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa
tives of the United States, in congress assembled, that it shall be lawful for

APPENDIX. 267

the president of the United States, or any of the heads of departments,
thereunto by him duly authorized, from time to time to grant permits to the
American Fur Company, their agents or factors, or any other citizens of the
United States engaged in the Indian trade, to introduce into the Indian
country, within the boundaries of the United States, such goods, wares, and
merchandise, as may be necessary for the said trade, under such regulations
and restrictions as the said president or heads of departments may judge
proper ; any law or regulation to the contrary, in anywise, notwithstanding.

Letter from Mr. Gallatin to Mr. Astor, dated

NEW YORK, August 5, 1835.
Dear Sir,—

In compliance with your request, I will state such facts as I recollect,
touching the subjects mentioned in your letter of 28th ult. I may be mis
taken respecting dates and details, and will only relate general facts, which
I well remember.

In conformity with the treaty of 1794 with Great Britain, the citizens and
subjects of each country were permitted to trade with the Indians residing
in the territories of the other party. The reciprocity was altogether nominal.
Since the conquest of Canada, the British had inherited from the French the
whole fur trade, through the great lakes and their communications, with all
the western Indians, whether residing in the British dominions or the United
States. They kept the important western posts on those lakes till about the
year 1797. And the defensive Indian war, which the United States had to
sustain from 1776 to 1795, had still more alienated the Indians, and secured
to the British their exclusive trade, carried through the lakes, wherever the
Indians in that quarter lived. No American could, without imminent danger
of property and life, carry on that trade, even within the United States, by
the way of either Michilimackinac or St. Mary's. And independent of the
loss of commerce, Great Britain was enabled to preserve a most dangerous
influence over our Indians.

It was under these circumstances that you communicated to our govern
ment the prospect you had to be able, and your intention, to purchase one
half of the interest of the Canadian Fur Company, engaged in trade by the
way of Michilimackinac with our own Indians. You wished to know
whether the plan met with the approbation of government, and how far you
could rely on its protection and encouragement. This overture was received
with great satisfaction by the administration, and Mr. Jefferson, then pre
sident, wrote you to that effect I was also directed, as secretary of the

268 APPENDIX

treasury, to write to you an official letter to the same purpose. On investi
gating the subject, it was found that the executive had no authority to give
you any direct aid ; and I believe that you received nothing more than an
entire approbation of your plan, and general assurances of the protection due
to every citizen engaged in lawful and useful pursuits.

You did effect the contemplated purchase, but in what year I do not recol
lect Immediately before the war, you represented that a large quantity of
merchandise, intended for the Indian trade, and including arms and muni
tions of war, belonging to that concern of which you owned one half, was
deposited at a post on lake Huron, within the British dominions ; that, in
order to prevent their ultimately falling into the hands of Indians who might
prove hostile, you were desirous to try to have them conveyed into the
United States ; but that you were prevented by the then existing law of non-
intercourse with the British dominions.

The executive could not annul the provisions of that law. But 1 was
directed to instruct the collectors on the lakes, in case you or your agents
should voluntarily bring in and deliver to them any parts of the goods above
mentioned, to receive and keep them in their guard, and not to commence
prosecutions until further instructions : the intention being then to apply to
congress for an act remitting the forfeiture and penalties. I wrote accord
ingly, to that effect, to the collectors of Detroit and Michilimackinac.

The attempt to obtain the goods did not, however, succeed ; and I cannot
say how far the failure injured you. But the war proved fatal to another
much more extensive and important enterprise.

Previous to that time, but I also forget the year, you had undertaken to
carry on a trade on your own account, though I believe under the New
York charter of the American Fur Company, with the Indians west of the
Rocky mountains. This project was also communicated to government,
and met, of course, with its full approbation, and best wishes for your success.
You carried it on, on the most extensive scale, sending several ships to the
mouth of the Columbia river, and a large party by land across the moun
tains, and finally founding the establishment of Astoria.

This unfortunately fell into the hands of the enemy during the war, from
circumstances with which I am but imperfectly acquainted — being then
absent on a foreign mission. I returned in September, 1815, and sailed
again on a mission to France in June, 1816. During that period I visited
Washington twice — in October or November, 1815, and in March, 1816.
On one of those two occasions, and I believe on the last, you mentioned to
me that you were disposed once more to renew the attempt, and to re-estab
lish Astoria, provided you had the protection of the American flag; for which
purpose, a lieutenant's command would be sufficient to you. You requested
me to mention this to the president, which I did. Mr. Madison said he
would consider the subject, and, although he did not commit himself, I
thought that he received the proposal favorably. The message was verbal,

APPENDIX. 269

and I do not know whether the application was ever renewed in a more
formal manner. I sailed soon after for Europe, and was seven years absent.
I never had the pleasure, since 1816, to see Mr. Madison, and never heard
again any thing concerning the subject in question.

I remain, dear sir, very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

ALBERT GALLATIN.
JOHN JACOB ASTOR, ESQ.,

New York.

Notices of the present state of the Fur Trade, chiefly extracted
from an article published in Silliman's Journal for January,
1834.

The North-west Company did not long enjoy the sway they had acquired
over the trading regions of the Columbia. A competition, ruinous in its
expenses, which had long existed between them and the Hudson's Bay Com
pany, ended in their downfall and the ruin of most of the partners. The
relics of the company became merged in the rival association, and the
whole business was conducted under the name of the Hudson's Bay
Company.

This coalition took place in 1821. They then abandoned Astoria, and
built a large establishment sixty miles up the river, on the right bank, which
they called Fort Vancouver. This was in a neighborhood where provisions
could be more readily procured, and where there was less danger from moles
tation by any naval force. The company are said to carry on an active
and prosperous trade, and to give great encouragement to settlers. They
are extremely jealous, however, of any interference or participation in their
trade, and monopolize it from the coast of the Pacific to the mountains, a/id
for a considerable extent north and south. The American traders and trap
pers who venture across the mountains, instead of enjoying the participation
in the trade of the river and its tributaries, that had been stipulated by treaty,
are obliged to keep to the south, out of the track of the Hudson's Bay
parties.

Mr. Astor has withdrawn entirely from the American Fur Company, as
he has, in fact, from active business of every kind. That company is now
headed by Mr. Ramsay Crooks ; its principal establishment is at Michili-
mackinac, and it receives its furs from the posts depending on that station,
and from those on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Yellow Stone rivers, and
the great range of country extending thence to the Rocky mountains. This

23*

270 APPENDIX.

company lias steamboats in its employ, with which it ascends the rivers, and
penetrates to a vast distance into the bosom of those regions formerly so
painfully explored in keel-boats and barges, or by weary parties on horse
back and on foot The first irruption of steamboats into the heart of these
vast wildernesses is said to have caused the utmost astonishment and
affright among their savage inhabitants.

In addition to the main companies already mentioned, minor associations
have been formed, which push their way in the most intrepid manner to the
remote parts of the far west, and beyond the mountain barriers. One of the
most noted of these is Ashley's company, from St Louis, who trap for
themselves, and drive an extensive trade with the Indians. The spirit, en
terprise, and hardihood of Ashley, are themes of the highest eulogy in the
far west, and his adventures and exploits furnish abundance of frontier
stories.

Another company of one hundred and fifty persons from New York,
formed in 1831, and headed by Captain Bonneville of the United States
army, has pushed its enterprises into tracts before but little known, and has
brought considerable quantities of furs from the region between the Rocky
mountains and the coasts of Monterey and Upper California, on the Buena
ventura and Timpanogos rivers.

The fur countries, from the Pacific, east to the Rocky mountains, are now
occupied (exclusive of private combinations and individual trappers and
traders) by the Russians ; on the north-west, from Bhering's Strait to dueen
Charlotte's Island, in north latitude fifty-three degrees, and by the Hudson's
Bay Company thence, south of the Columbia river ; while Ashley's company,
and that under Captain Bonneville, take the remainder of the region to
California. Indeed, the whole compass from the Mississippi to the Pacific
Ocean is traversed in every direction. The mountains and forests, from the
Arctic Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, are threaded, through every maze, by the
hunter. Every river and tributary stream, from the Columbia to the mouth
of the Rio del Norte, and from the M'Kenzie to the Colorado of the West,
from their head springs to their junction, are searched and trapped for beaver.
Almost all the American furs, which do not belong to the Hudson's Bay
Company, find their way to New York, and are either distributed thence
for home consumption, or sent to foreign markets.

The Hudson's Bay Company ship their furs from their factories of York
fort and from Moose river, on Hudson's Bay ; their collection from Grand
river, &c., they ship from Canada ; and the collection from Columbia goes
to London. None of their furs come to the United States, except through
the London market

The export trade of furs from the United States is chiefly to London.
Some quantities have been sent to Canton, and some few to Hamburgh ;
and an increasing export trade in beaver, otter, nutria, and vicunia wool,
prepared for the hatter's use, is carried on in Mexico. Some furs are ex-

APPENDIX. 271

ported from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston ; but the principal shipments
from the United States are from New York to London, from whence they
are sent to Leipsic, a well-known mart for furs, where they are disposed
of during the great fair in that city, and distributed to every part of the
continent.

The United States import from South America, nutria, vicunia, chinchilla,
and a few deer skins ; also fur seals from the Lobos islands, off the river
Plate. A quantity of beaver, otter, &c., are brought annually from Santa
Fe\ Dressed furs for edgings, linings, caps, muffs, &c., such as squirrel,
genet, fitch skins, and blue rabbit, are received from the north of Europe ;
also coney and hare's fur ; but the largest importations are from London,
where is concentrated nearly the whole of the North American fur trade.

Such is the present state of the fur trade, by which it will appear that the
extended sway of the Hudson's Bay Company, and its monopoly of the
region of which Astoria was the key, has operated to turn the main current
of this opulent trade into the coffers of Great Britain, and to render London
the emporium instead of New York, as Mr. Astor had intended.

We will subjoin a few observations on the animals sought after in this
traffic, extracted from the same intelligent source with the preceding
remarks.

Of the fur-bearing animals, " the precious ermine," so called by way of
pre-eminence, is found, of the best quality, only in the cold regions of Europe
and Asia.* Its fur is of the most perfect whiteness, except the tip of its tail,
which is of a brilliant shining black. With these black tips tacked on the
skins, they are beautifully spotted, producing an effect often imitated, but
never equalled in other furs. The ermine is of the genus mustela, (weasel,)
and resembles the common weasel in its form ; is from fourteen to sixteen
inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. The body is from ten
to twelve inches long. It lives in hollow trees, river banks, and especially
in beech forests ; preys on small birds, is very shy, sleeping during the day,
and employing the night in search of food. The fur of the older animals is
preferred to the younger. It is taken by snares and traps, and sometimes
shot with blunt arrows. Attempts have been made to domesticate it ; but it
is extremely wild, and has been found untameable.

The sable can scarcely be called second to the ermine. It is a native of
northern Europe and Siberia, and is also of the genus mustela. In Sa-
moieda, Yakutsk, Kamschatka, and Russian Lapland, it is found of the
richest quality, and darkest color. In its habits, it resembles the ermine.
It preys on small squirrels and birds, sleeps by day, and prowls for food
during the night. It is so like the marten in every particular except its size,
and the dark shade of its color, that naturalists have not decided whether it

* An animal called the stoat, a kind of ermine, is said to be found in North America,
but very inferior to the European and Asiatic.

272 APPENDIX.

is the richest and finest of the marten tribe, or a variety of that species.* It
varies in dimensions from eighteen to twenty inches.

The rich dark shades of the sable, and the snowy whiteness of the ermine,
the great depth, and the peculiar, almost flowing softness of their skins and
fur, have combined to gain them a preference in all countries, and in all ages
of the world. In this age, they maintain the same relative estimate in regard
to other furs, as when they marked the rank of the proud crusader, and were
emblazoned in heraldry : but in most European nations, they are now worn
promiscuously by the opulent.

The martens from Northern Asia and the mountains of Kamschatka are
much superior to the American, though in every pack of American marten
skins there are a certain number which are beautifully shaded, and of a
dark brown olive color, of great depth and richness.

Next these in value, for ornament and utility, are the sea otter, the mink,
and the fiery fox.

The fiery fox is the bright red of Asia ; is more brilliantly colored and of
finer fur than any other of the genus. It is highly valued for the splendor
of its red color and the fineness of its fur. It is the standard of value on the
north-eastern coast of Asia.

The sea otter, which was first introduced into commerce in 1725, from the
Aleutian and Kurile islands, is an exceedingly fine, soft, close fur, jet black
in winter with a silken gloss. The fur of the young animal is of a beautiful
brown color. It is met with in great abundance in Bhering's island, Kam
schatka, Aleutian and Fox islands, and is also taken on the opposite coasts
of North America. It is sometimes taken with nets, but more frequently
with clubs and spears. Their food is principally lobster and other shell-fish.

In 1780 furs had become so scarce in Siberia, that the supply was insuffi
cient for the demand in the Asiatic countries. It was at this time that the
sea otter was introduced into the markets for China. The skins brought
such incredible prices, as to originate immediately several American and
British expeditions to the northern islands of the Pacific, to Nootka Sound,
and the north-west coast of America ; but the Russians already had posses
sion of the tract which they now hold, and had arranged a trade for the sea
otter with the Koudek tribes. They do not engross the trade, however ;
the American north-west trading ships procure them, all along the coast,
from the Indians.

At one period, the fur seals formed no inconsiderable item in the trade.
South Georgia, in south latitude fifty-five degrees, discovered in 1675, was
explored by Captain Cook in 1771. The Americans immediately com
menced carrying seal skins thence to China, where they obtained the most

* The finest fur and the darkest color are most esteemed ; and whether the difference
arises from the age of the animal, or from some peculiarity of location, is not known.
They do not vary more from the common marten, than the Arabian horse from the
shaggy Canadian.

APPENDIX. 273

exorbitant prices. One million two hundred thousand skins have been
taken from that island alone, and nearly an equal number from the island
of Desolation, since they were first resorted to for the purposes of commerce.

The discovery of the South Shetlands, sixty-three degrees south latitude,
in 1818, added surprisingly to the trade in fur seals. The number taken
from the South Shetlands in 1821 and 1822 amounted to three hundred and
twenty thousand. This valuable animal is now almost extinct in all these
islands, owing to the exterminating system adopted by the hunters. They
are still taken on the Lobos islands, where the provident government of
Montevideo restrict the fishery, or hunting, within certain limits, which insures
an annual return of the seals. At certain seasons these amphibia, for the
purpose of renewing their coat, come up on the dark frowning rocks and
precipices, where there is not a trace of vegetation. In the middle of January,
the islands are partially cleared of snow, where a few patches of short strag
gling grass spring up in favorable situations ; but the seals do not resort to
it for food. They remain on the rocks not less than two months, without
any sustenance, when they return much emaciated to the sea.

Bears of various species and colors, many varieties of the fox, the wolf,
the beaver, the otter, the marten, the raccoon, the badger, the wolverine, the
mink, the lynx, the muskrat, the woodchuck, the rabbit, the hare, and the
squirrel, are natives of North America.

The beaver, otter, lynx, fisher, hare, and raccoon, are used principally for
hats ; while the bears of several varieties furnish an excellent material for
sleigh linings, for cavalry caps, and other military equipments. The fur of
the black fox is the most valuable of any of the American varieties ; and next
to that the red, which is exported to China and Smyrna. In China, the red
is employed for trimmings, linings, and robes ; the latter being variegated, by
adding the black fur of the paws, in spots or waves. There are many other
varieties of American fox, such as the gray, the white, the cross, the silver,
and the dun-colored. The silver fox is a rare animal, a native of the woody
country below the falls of the Columbia river. It has a long, thick, deep
lead-colored fur, intermingled with long hairs, invariably white at the top,
forming a bright lustrous silver gray, esteemed by some more beautiful than
any other kind of fox.

The skins of the buffalo, of the Rocky mountain sheep, of various deer,
and of the antelope, are included in the fur trade with the Indians and
trappers of the north and west.

Fox and seal skins are sent from Greenland to Denmark. The white fur
of the arctic fox and polar bear is sometimes found in the packs brought to
the traders by the most northern tribes of Indians, but is not particularly
valuable. The silver-tipped rabbit is peculiar to England, and is sent thence
to Russia and China.

Other furs are employed ancl valued according to the caprices of fashion,
as well in those countries where they are needed for defences against the

274 APPENDIX.

severity of the seasons, as among the inhabitants of milder climates, who,
being of Tartar or Sclavonian descent, are said to inherit an attachment to
furred clothing. Such are the inhabitants of Poland, of Southern Russia,
of China, of Persia, of Turkey, and all the nations of Gothic origin in the
middle and western parts of Europe. Under the burning suns of Syria and
Egypt, and the mild climes of Bucharia and Independent Tartary, there is
also a constant demand, and a great consumption, where there exists no
physical necessity. In our own temperate latitudes, besides their use in the
arts, they are in request for ornament and warmth during the winter, and
large quantities are annually consumed for both purposes in the United
States.

From the foregoing statements, it appears that the fur trade must hencefor
ward decline. The advanced state of geographical science shows that no
new countries remain to be explored. In North America, the animals
are slowly decreasing, from the persevering efforts and the indiscriminate
slaughter practised by the hunters, and by the appropriation to the uses of
man of those forests and rivers which have afforded them food and protec
tion. They recede with the aborigines, before the tide of civilization ; but a
diminished supply will remain in the mountains and uncultivated tracts of
this and other countries, if the avidity of the vunter can be restrained within
proper limitations.

Height of the Rocky Mountains.

Various estimates have been made of the height of the Rocky mountains,
but it is doubtful whether any have, as yet, done justice to their real altitude,
which promises to place them only second to the highest mountains of the
known world. Their height has been diminished to the eye by the great ele
vation of the plains from which they rise. They consist, according to Long,
of ridges, knobs, and peaks, variously disposed. The more elevated parts
are covered with perpetual snows, which contribute to give them a luminous,
and, at a great distance, even a brilliant appearance ; whence they derived,
among some of the first discoverers, the name of the Shining mountains.

James's Peak has generally been cited as the highest of the chain ; and its
elevation above the common level has been ascertained, by a trigonometrical
measurement, to be about eight thousand five hundred feet Mr. Long, how
ever, judged, from the position of the snow near the summits of other peaks
and ridges at no great distance from it, that they were much higher. Having
heard Professor Renwick, of New York, express an opinion of the altitude
of these mountains far beyond what had usually been ascribed to them, we
applied to him for the authority on which he grounded his observation, and
here subjoin his reply: —

APPENDIX. 275

COLUMBIA COLLEGE, NEW YORK, February 23, 1836.
Dear Sir, —

In compliance with your request, I have to communicate some facts
in relation to the heights of the Rocky mountains, and the sources whence I
obtained the information.

In conversation with Simon M'Gillivray, Esq., a partner of the North
west Company, he stated to me his impression, that the mountains in the
vicinity of the route pursued by the traders of that company were nearly as
high as the Himalayas. He had himself crossed by this route, seen the
snowy summits of the peaks, and experienced a degree of cold which re
quired a spirit thermometer to indicate it. His authority for the estimate of
the heights was a gentleman who had been employed for several years as
surveyor of that company. This conversation occurred about sixteen years
since.

A year or two afterwards, I had the pleasure of dining, at Major Dela-
field's, with Mr. Thompson, the gentleman referred to by Mr. M'Gillivray.
I inquired of him in relation to the circumstances mentioned by Mr. M'Gil
livray, and he stated, that, by the joint means of the barometer and trigono
metric measurement, he had ascertained the height of one of the peaks to be
about twenty-five thousand feet, and there were others of nearly the same
height in the vicinity.

I am, dear Sir,

Yours truly,

JAMES RENWICK.

To W. IRVING, Esq.

Suggestions with respect to the Indian tribes, and the protection
of our Trade.

In the course of this work, a few general remarks have been hazarded
respecting the Indian tribes of the prairies, and the dangers to be appre
hended from them in future times to our trade beyond the Rocky mountains
and with the Spanish frontiers. Since writing those remarks, we have met
with some excellent observations and suggestions, in manuscript, on the
same subject, written by Captain Bonneville, of the United States army,
who has lately returned from a long residence among the tribes of the Rocky
mountains. Captain B. approves highly of the plan recently adopted by the
United States government for the organization of a regiment of dragoons
for the protection of our western frontier, and the trade across the prairies.
"No other species of military force," he observes, "is at all competent to
cope with these restless and wandering hordes, who require to be opposed

276 APPENDIX.

with swiftness quite as much as with strength ; and the consciousness that
a troop, uniting these qualifications, is always on the alert to avenge their
outrages upon the settlers and traders, will go very far towards restraining
them from the perpetration of those thefts and murders which they have here
tofore committed with impunity, whenever stratagem or superiority of force
has given them the advantage. Their interest already has done something
towards their pacification with our countrymen. From the traders among
them, they receive their supplies in the greatest abundance, and upon very
equitable terms ; and when it is remembered that a very considerable amount
of property is yearly distributed among them by the government, as presents,
it will readily be perceived that they are greatly dependant upon us for their
most valued resources. If, superadded to this inducement, a frequent display
of military power be made in their territories, there can be little doubt that
the desired security and peace will be speedily afforded to our own people.
But the idea of establishing a permanent amity and concord amongst the
various east and west tribes themselves, seems to me, if not wholly imprac
ticable, at least infinitely more difficult than many excellent philanthropists
have hoped and believed. Those nations which have so lately emigrated
from the midst of our settlements to live upon our western borders, and have
made some progress in agriculture and the arts of civilization, have, in the
property they have acquired, and the protection and aid extended to them,
too many advantages to be induced readily to take up arms against us, par
ticularly if they can be brought to the full conviction that their new homes
will be permanent and undisturbed ; and there is every reason and motive,
in policy as well as humanity, for our ameliorating their condition by every
means in our power. But the case is far different with regard to the Osages,
the Kanzas, the Pawnees, and other roving hordes beyond the frontiers of the
settlements. Wild and restless in their character and habits, they are by no
means so susceptible of control or civilization ; and they are urged by strong,
and, to them, irresistible causes in then- situation and necessities, to the daily
perpetration of violence and fraud. Their permanent subsistence, for example,
is derived from the buffalo hunting grounds, which lie a great distance from
their towns. Twice a year they are obliged to make long and dangerous ex
peditions, to procure the necessary provisions for themselves and their families.
For this purpose, horses are absolutely requisite, for their own comfort and
safety, as well as for the transportation of their food, and their little stock of
valuables ; and without them they would be reduced, during a great portion
of the year, to a state of abject misery and privation. They have no brood
mares, nor any trade sufficiently valuable to supply their yearly losses, and
endeavor to keep up then- stock by stealing horses from the other tribes to
the west and south-west Our own people, and the tribes immediately upon
our borders, may indeed be protected from their depredations ; and the Kan
zas, Osages, Pawnees, and others, may be induced to remain at peace among
themselves, so long as they are permitted to pursue the old custom of levying

APPENDIX. 277

upon the Camanches and other remote nations for their complement of steeds
for the warriors, and pack-horses for their transportations to and from the
hunting ground. But the instant they are forced to maintain a peaceful and
inoffensive demeanor towards the tribes along the Mexican border, and find
that every violation of their rights is followed by the avenging arm of our
government, the result must be, that, reduced to a wretchedness and want
which they can ill brook, and feeling the certainty of punishment for every
attempt to ameliorate their condition in the only way they as yet compre
hend, they will abandon their unfruitful territory, and remove to the neigh
borhood of the Mexican lands, and there carry on a vigorous predatory war
fare indiscriminately upon the Mexicans and our own people trading or
travelling in that quarter.

"The Indians of the prairies are almost innumerable. Their superior
horsemanship, which, in my opinion, far exceeds that of any other people on
the face of the earth, their daring bravery, their cunning and skill in the war
fare of the wilderness, and the astonishing rapidity and secrecy with which
they are accustomed to move in their martial expeditions, will always render
them most dangerous and vexatious neighbors, when their necessities or their
discontents may drive them to hostility with our frontiers. Their mode and
principles of warfare will always protect them from final and irretrievable
defeat, and secure then" families from participating in any blow, however
severe, which our retribution might deal out to them.

"The Camanches lay the Mexicans under contribution for horses and
mules, which they are always engaged in stealing from them in incredible
numbers ; and from the Camanches, all the roving tribes of the far west, by
a similar exertion of skill and daring, supply themselves in turn. It seems
to me, therefore, under all these circumstances, that the apparent futility of
any philanthropic schemes for the benefit of these nations, and a regard for
our own protection, concur in recommending that we remain satisfied with
maintaining peace upon our own immediate borders, and leave the Mexicans
and the Camanches, and all the tribes hostile to these last, to settle their
differences and difficulties in their own way.

" In order to give full security and protection to our trading parties circu
lating in all directions through the great prairies, I am under the impression,
that a few judicious measures on the part of the government, involving a
very limited expense, would be sufficient. And, in attaining this end, which
of itself has already become an object of public interest and import, another,
of much greater consequence, might be brought about, viz., the securing to
the states a most valuable and increasing trade, now carried on by caravans
directly to Santa Fe\

" As to the first desideratum : the Indians can only be made to respect the
lives and property of the American parties, by rendering them dependant upon
us for their supplies ; which can alone be done with complete effect by the
establishment of a trading post, with resident traders, at some point which

VOL. n. 24

278 APPENDIX.

will unite a sufficient number of advantages to attract the several tribes to
itself, in preference to their present places of resort for that purpose ; for it is
a well known fact, that the Indiana will always protect their trader, and
those in whom he is interested, so long as they derive benefits from him.
The alternative presented to those at the north, by the residence of the agents
of the Hudson's Bay Company amongst them, renders the condition of our
people in that quarter less secure ; but I think it will appear, at once, upon
the most cursory examination, that no such opposition further south could be
maintained, so as to weaken the benefits of such an establishment as is here
suggested.

"• In considering this matter, the first question which presents itself is,
where do these tribes now make their exchanges, and obtain their necessary
supplies ? They resort almost exclusively to the Mexicans, who, themselves,
purchase from us whatever the Indians most seek for. In this point of view,
therefore, cceteris paribus, it would be an easy matter for us to monopolize the
"whole traffic. All that is wanting is some location more convenient for the
natives than that offered by the Mexicans, to give us the undisputed supe
riority ; and the selection of such a point requires but a knowledge of the
single fact, that these nations invariably winter upon the head waters of the
Arkansas, and there prepare all their buffalo robes for trade. These robes
are heavy, and, to the Indian, very difficult of transportation. Nothing but
necessity induces them to travel any great distance with such inconvenient
baggage. A post, therefore, established upon the head waters of the Arkan
sas, must infallibly secure an uncontested preference over that of the Mex
icans, even at their prices and rates of barter. Then let the dragoons occa
sionally move about among these people in large parties, impressing them
with the proper estimate of our power to protect and to punish, and at once
we have complete and assured security for all citizens whose enterprise may
lead them beyond the border, and an end to the outrages and depredations
which now dog the footsteps of the traveller in the prairies, and arrest and
repress the most advantageous commerce. Such a post need not be stronger
than fifty men ; twenty-five to be employed as hunters, to supply the garri
son, and the residue as a defence against any hostility. Situated here upon
the good lands of the Arkansas, in the midst of abundance of timber, while
it might be kept up at a most inconsiderable expense, such an establishment
within ninety miles of Santa F^ or Tous would be more than justified by
the other and more important advantage before alluded to, leaving the pro
tection of the traders with the Indian tribes entirely out of the question.

"This great trade, carried on by caravans to Santa Fe", annually loads one
hundred wagons with merchandise, which is bartered in the northern prov
inces or Mexico for cash and for beaver furs. The numerous articles ex
cluded as contraband, and the exorbitant duties laid upon all those that are
admitted by the Mexican government, present so many obstacles to com
merce, that I am well persuaded, that if a post, such as is here suggested,

APPENDIX. 279

should be established on the Arkansas, it would become the place of deposite,
not only for the present trade, but for one infinitely more extended. Here
the Mexicans might purchase their supplies, and might well afford to sell
them at prices which would silence all competition from any other quarter.

"These two trades, with the Mexicans and the Indians, centring at this
post, would give rise to a large village of traders and laborers, and would
undoubtedly be hailed, by all that section of country, as a permanent and
invaluable advantage. A few pack-horses would carry all the clothing and
ammunition necessary for the post during the first year, and two light field-
pieces would be all the artillery required for its defence. Afterwards, all the
horses required for the use of the establishment might be purchased from the
Mexicans at the low price of ten dollars each ; and, at the same time, what
ever animals might be needed to supply the losses among the dragoons trav
ersing the neighborhood, could be readily procured. The Upper Missouri
Indians can furnish horses, at very cheap rates, to any number of the same
troops who might be detailed for the defence of the northern frontier; and, in
other respects, a very limited outlay of money would suffice to maintain a
post in that section of the country.

"From these considerations, and my own personal observation, I am,
therefore, disposed to believe, that two posts established by the government,
one at the mouth of the Yellow Stone river, and one on the Arkansas, would
completely protect all our people in every section'of the great wilderness of
the west ; while other advantages, at least with regard to one of them, con
firm and urge the suggestion. A fort at the mouth of Yellow Stone, garri
soned by fifty men, would be perfectly safe. The establishment might be
constructed simply with a view to the stores, stables for the dragoons' horses,
and quarters for the regular garrison ; the rest being provided with sheds or
lodges, erected in the vicinity, for their residence during the winter months."

THE END.

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LOUISA ANNE TWAMLEY.

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CAREY, LEA & BLANCH ARD, PHILADELPHIA,

WILL PUBLISH BY SUBSCRIPTION,

AN

ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF GEOGRAPHY:

COMPRISING A

COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE EARTH,

PHYSICAL, STATISTICAL, COMMERCIAL, AND POLITICAL ;
EXHIBITING

Its Relation to the Heavenly Bodies — its physical Structure — the
Natural History of each Country ; and the Industry, Commerce,
Political Institutions, and Civil and Social state of all Nations.

BY HUGH MURRAY, F. R. S. E.

ASSISTED IN

Astronomy, &c. by Prof. Wallace, Geology, &o. by Prof. Jameson,
Botany, &c. by Prof. Hooker, Zoology, &c. by W. Swainson,Esq.

ILLUSTRATED BY EIGHTY-TWO MAPS,

And about Eleven Hundred other Engravings on Wood,

Representing the most remarkable objects of Nature and Art
in every region of the Globe.

TOGETHER WITH

A NEW MAP OF THE UNITED STATES.
REVISED, WITH ADDITION'S,

BY THOMAS G. BRADFORD.

TERMS.

The work will form Three large Super Royal Octavo Volumes,
containing in all eighteen hundred pages, or about six hundred pages
per volume, and illustrated by over ELEVEN HUNDRED WOOD ENGRAV
INGS AND MAPS.

To subscribers it will be delivered well and handsomely bound in
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EXTRACTS FROM THE ENGLISH PREFACE.

Deeply impressed with a sense of the great extent and difficult
execution of a complete Geographical work, the Editor, during nearly
ten years in which he has been engaged upon it, has used the utmost
exertion to procure from every quarter information and aid. He has
studiously collected the moat recent, authentic, and accurate accounts
of the extent, natural features, population, productions, industry, po
litical constitution, literature, religion, and social state of the various
regions of the globe, with the leading details as to their districts and
cities. The sciences connected with the natural history of the earth
have, however, attained to such an extent and importance, that a
thorough knowledge of them can only he possessed by individuals
who have especially devoted themselves to one particular branch.
The Editor, therefore, considered it essential to procure the co-ope
ration of writers who had risen to acknowledged eminence in the
departments of Geology and Mineralogy, Zoology, and Botany. He
considered that he had fully succeeded, when Professor Jameson
undertook to delineate the geological structure of the globe, and the
distribution of minerals over its surface; Mr. Swainson to explain
the distribution of animals, and the most remarkable of those found
in each particular region ; and Dr. Hooker to perform the same task
in regard to the vegetable kingdom. Professor Wallace has illus
trated the relations of the earth as a planet, the trigonometrical sur
veys, the construction of maps, and other subjects connected with
mathematical science. These tasks have been executed in a manner
which, it is hoped, will fully support the high reputation of their re
spective authors. Various parts relating to remote countries have
been revised by gentlemen recently returned from them. It is only
justice to add, that neither exertion nor expense has been spared by
the Publishers, to enable the Editor to render the work as perfect as

AMERICAN EDITION.

The American edition of the ENCYCLOPAEDIA OP GEOGRAPHY has
been carefully revised and corrected throughout, and brought down
to the period of its publication by such modifications of the original
text as the nature of the changes to be made seemed to require
Thus new and more recent statements of the commercial, financial,
political, and other relations of countries have been often substituted
for those given in the English edition of the work, and the results
of late discoveries have been interwoven with the original matter, or
have served to rectify some antiquated error, the gradual removing
of which from our manuals forms at present an important part of
the task of the geographical compiler. The portion of the work re
lating to the United States has been written anew, and fills two
hundred pages ; that of the English edition comprising only thirty-
three pages and being extremely meagre. A new and larger map
of this country has also been given, and woodcuts have been added
to the chapter devoted to its description.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES

THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
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